ASX blocks web-crawling software

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has added web-crawler blocking software to its platform to prevent alerts being sent to investors regarding certain stocks using special software. The crawlers, also called spiders, work by searching the ASX and NZX websites for announcements regarding companies their customers invest in. Notifications are made to investors regarding their interests. 

The ASX was reported in The Australian to have stated that it put the new measures in place to stop 'screen scraping' by unlicensed parties for commercial gain.