You will not collect users' content or information, or otherwise access Facebook, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our permission.
So Facebook can give permission, and clearly have given permission via some interfaces.
If Power could have done everything they wanted to do via the official developer APIs, no doubt the case would be different.
Power continued even after Facebook asked them to stop (and further tried to block Power's IPs) -- so at least some of the access occurred when permission, if any, was clearly not given.
But is that a crime? Or a contractual violation or tort?
The clause in question currently says:
You will not collect users' content or information, or otherwise access Facebook, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our permission.
So Facebook can give permission, and clearly have given permission via some interfaces.
If Power could have done everything they wanted to do via the official developer APIs, no doubt the case would be different.
Power continued even after Facebook asked them to stop (and further tried to block Power's IPs) -- so at least some of the access occurred when permission, if any, was clearly not given.
But is that a crime? Or a contractual violation or tort?