Byteful, the UK-based web data infrastructure platform formerly known as Ping Proxies, today announced it has joined the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI), a consortium convened by the i2Coalition that brings web data companies together to define ethical guidelines and best practices for data collection.
The initiative organises around four questions any web data company has to answer: the websites being accessed, the customers doing the accessing, the proxies in between, and the data that comes out the other end. Byteful has addressed those questions internally for years through its Ethical Sourcing Policy and Acceptable Use Policy; EWDCI brings companies together to work through them collectively.
Why Byteful Joined
EWDCI covers four pillars: legality, ethics, ecosystem engagement, and social responsibility. Demand for web data continues to grow, particularly from AI applications, while industry practices around collecting it responsibly are still taking shape.
Legality: operating within the laws of the jurisdictions companies touch, and keeping pace as those rules change.
Ethics: how companies source their networks and work with customers.
Ecosystem Engagement: how traffic interacts with the websites, users, and infrastructure it touches.
Social Responsibility: working with civil society and governmental organisations toward a healthier web.
Building on Existing Commitments
Byteful joins EWDCI as an extension of steps it has already taken to make its commitments concrete and verifiable rather than confined to a policy page. The company is a member of the Internet Watch Foundation and holds Made in Britain certification for its software development.
What's Next for Byteful
Membership is the first step. Byteful is now working toward the EWDCI Trust Seal, which involves a formal review of its practices against the EWDCI Core Principles and a compliance audit conducted by the i2Coalition alongside EWDCI leadership.
“We'd rather be part of that conversation than watch it from outside, and honestly, we expect to learn as much from the other members as we contribute,” said Timur Gok, Founder of Byteful.
About Byteful
Byteful is a UK-based web data infrastructure platform providing access to a global network of ethically sourced residential and mobile proxies. The company supports businesses building web scraping systems, data pipelines, and AI-powered automation tools through its API-first platform.
