I hate to be the bearer of bad new but...maybe. A reading of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could make robots.txt legally enforceable. And given the government's approach to CFAA cases a very aggressive interpretation, under the right circumstances (for example, when it provides evidence that the scraper knew that scrapint was not authorized), seems like a real possibility.
Among the many other things CFAA criminalizes, it makes it a crime to "intentionally access[] a computer without authorization or exceed[] authorized access . . and thereby obtain[] information from any protected computer;"
A "protected computer" is, among other things, a computer "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication." That would probably cover just about any server on the Internet.
I wouldn't be too fast to jump to conclusion robots.txt legally enforceable. You would need to cite prior case law's. Without any case law's it make decision on a law error prone at best.
Saying something is illegal under the CFAA isn't really a stretch, it's one of the broadest statutes ever written. If you have an employee handbook at your job right now and are using the internet for your own entertainment you may be violating the CFAA.
The interesting question is are you violating the CFAA in a way that will cause the executive branch to exercise their discretion to prosecute, and moreso, is the CFAA even constitutional.
I hate to be the bearer of bad new but...maybe. A reading of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could make robots.txt legally enforceable. And given the government's approach to CFAA cases a very aggressive interpretation, under the right circumstances (for example, when it provides evidence that the scraper knew that scrapint was not authorized), seems like a real possibility.
Among the many other things CFAA criminalizes, it makes it a crime to "intentionally access[] a computer without authorization or exceed[] authorized access . . and thereby obtain[] information from any protected computer;"
A "protected computer" is, among other things, a computer "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication." That would probably cover just about any server on the Internet.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030