The robots.txt file of TikTok sets restrictive rules regarding which parts of the website web crawlers can access. Most directives are relaying Disallow rules, severely limiting access to specific URL paths for all user agents. For instance, URLs represented by Disallow: / rule are off-limits for scraping, indicating that almost all of the website's resources can't be crawled. This broad prohibition makes it clear that, from a web scraping perspective, TikTok doesn't allow scrapers to access its data through common scraping techniques. The file has no exceptions or Allow rules that apply to user-agents other than the whitelisted ones like googlebot, bingbot, etc. Although TikTok's content might be enticing for web scraping due to its massive user base and content diversity, the robots.txt file indicates that such activities are not permitted.

The TikTok Terms of Service provide clear information that automated access is strictly prohibited and closely monitored to ensure compliance. They transparently explain, 'You agree not to access, collect information from, or otherwise interact with the Services using any robot, spider, scraper, crawler, or other automated means or interface not provided by us.' This statement specifically applies to activities like web scraping, crawling from an automated standpoint, and other data collection methods.

Secondly, in terms of API usage, TikTok doesn't offer public API access and any kind of circumvention to this restriction is explicitly forbidden. Furthermore, the penalties for violating these terms are severe, including but not limited to account suspension, termination and even potential legal action. TikTok's legal team actively enforces these measures and reserve the right to defend their services and users against harmful activities, which include unapproved scraping and automated traction.