# Federal Regulator Watch Scraper (`parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes federal regulator updates from FTC, FDA, SEC, USDA, and GAO. Returns each update as a flat row with title, description, source, and publication date.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, News
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $19.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Federal Regulator Watch Scraper

**Monitor FTC, FDA, SEC, USDA, and GAO updates in one run.** Every record comes with its title, description, source, and publication date. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Federal regulators publish enforcement actions, warning letters, litigation releases, investor alerts, food recalls, and reports across separate websites. This Actor reads the public feeds from FTC, FDA, SEC, USDA, and GAO in parallel, filters them by keyword, and returns each match in one fixed schema.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Federal Regulator Watch for |
|---|---|
| Compliance officers | Which enforcement actions or warning letters affect their industry this week |
| Journalists | Breaking regulatory news and recalls before they hit mainstream outlets |
| Market researchers | Trends in SEC litigation or investor alerts that signal market risk |
| Food safety managers | USDA and FDA recall notices that require immediate supply chain checks |

### What it does

This Actor collects regulatory updates from selected federal sources and returns each one as a flat row with title, description, source, and publication date.

- 🔎 **Keyword filter:** case-insensitive query matches titles and descriptions across all selected sources.
- 📡 **Parallel sources:** run FTC, FDA, SEC, USDA, and GAO feeds at the same time, or pick one.
- 📊 **Flat rows:** every update is returned as a single record with title, description, source, and publication date.
- 📦 **Export ready:** download results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for your compliance or research workflow.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Federal Regulator Watch data

**📈 Track enforcement trends.**

A compliance officer runs the Actor weekly with the query 'data privacy' across FTC and SEC sources to spot new actions and adjust internal policies.

**🚨 Catch recalls early.**

A food safety manager monitors USDA and FDA recall feeds for 'salmonella' and receives a CSV of affected products to check against inventory.

**📰 Feed a newsroom.**

A journalist sets the Actor to collect SEC litigation releases and investor alerts daily, then filters for high-profile companies to pitch stories.

**📊 Build a risk dashboard.**

A market researcher scrapes GAO reports and SEC alerts into a database to correlate regulatory activity with stock volatility.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **One schema for all regulators** | No need to parse five different websites or APIs; every record has the same fields. |
| **No login or API key** | Reads public feeds directly, so you can start scraping in minutes. |
| **Parallel monitoring** | FTC, FDA, SEC, USDA, and GAO are checked in the same run, not one after another. |
| **Keyword filtering** | Narrow results to your industry, product, or topic before the data is stored. |

### How it compares

No other Store actor targets Federal Regulator Watch the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

| | Federal Regulator Watch Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When Federal Regulator Watch changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a keyword query and a list of federal sources, and set a maximum number of updates per source so only the most recent matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
 "sources": [
 "ftc-actions",
 "fda-warning-letters",
 "sec-litigation-releases",
 "sec-investor-alerts",
 "usda-recall-watch",
 "gao-reports"
 ],
 "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "sources": [
 "ftc-actions",
 "fda-warning-letters",
 "sec-litigation-releases",
 "sec-investor-alerts",
 "usda-recall-watch",
 "gao-reports"
 ],
 "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.021 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $2.10 |
| 1,000 results | $21.00 |
| 10,000 results | $210.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Federal Regulator Watch Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Federal Regulator Watch through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check your keyword query. If it is too specific, no title or description will match. Try a broader term or leave the query blank to get the latest updates from all selected sources.

**Why are some sources missing from my output?**

Make sure the source is selected in the sources field. Also, if a regulator's feed is temporarily unavailable, that source may return zero records for that run.

**The Actor is taking too long to finish.**

Reduce the 'Maximum updates per source' value. Each source is scraped in parallel, but a high limit means more pages to fetch.

**I see duplicate records across runs.**

Regulators may keep the same item in their feed for several days. Use the Apify dataset deduplication feature or filter by publication date in your downstream process.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which federal agencies does this Actor cover? | It covers FTC enforcement actions, FDA warning letters, SEC litigation releases, SEC investor alerts and bulletins, USDA and FDA food recalls, and GAO reports via RSS. |
| Do I need an API key or login? | No. The Actor reads public feeds directly from each regulator's website, so no registration or credentials are required. |
| Can I filter by keyword? | Yes. The query field is case-insensitive and matches against the title and description of every update across all selected sources. |
| How do I limit the number of results? | Set the 'Maximum updates per source' field. The Actor will collect up to that many records from each source you selected. |
| Can I run only one source, like FDA warning letters? | Yes. In the sources field, select only 'FDA warning letters' and leave the others unchecked. |
| What format is the output? | Each update is returned as a flat row with title, description, source, and publication date. You can export the dataset as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML. |
| How often should I run this Actor? | Regulators publish new items daily or weekly. A daily or weekly schedule is common, but you can run it on demand for a one-time snapshot. |
| Does this Actor scrape historical data? | It collects the latest items available in each public feed. For older records, you may need to adjust the maximum updates per source or check the regulator's archive directly. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by U.S. Federal Regulators. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Optional case-insensitive keyword. Filters titles/descriptions across all sources. Leave blank for the latest records from every source.

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Pick which federal-regulator sources to monitor in parallel.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many regulatory updates to collect from each source per run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sources": [
    "ftc-actions",
    "fda-warning-letters",
    "sec-litigation-releases",
    "sec-investor-alerts",
    "usda-recall-watch",
    "gao-reports"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "query": "",
    "sources": [
        "ftc-actions",
        "fda-warning-letters",
        "sec-litigation-releases",
        "sec-investor-alerts",
        "usda-recall-watch",
        "gao-reports"
    ],
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "query": "",
    "sources": [
        "ftc-actions",
        "fda-warning-letters",
        "sec-litigation-releases",
        "sec-investor-alerts",
        "usda-recall-watch",
        "gao-reports",
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "query": "",
  "sources": [
    "ftc-actions",
    "fda-warning-letters",
    "sec-litigation-releases",
    "sec-investor-alerts",
    "usda-recall-watch",
    "gao-reports"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/federal-regulator-watch-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/4lUw1NNCLfcme5SUa/builds/7Q7hejM9nVFvdlLTM/openapi.json