How can PHP be used to automate tasks on external websites without violating their terms of service?

When automating tasks on external websites using PHP, it is important to adhere to the terms of service of those websites to avoid any violations. One way to do this is by using APIs provided by the websites, as they are designed for automation and allow you to interact with the website in a controlled manner.

// Example of using an API to automate tasks on an external website
$api_key = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
$endpoint = 'https://api.externalwebsite.com/task';

$data = array(
    'param1' => 'value1',
    'param2' => 'value2'
);

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $endpoint);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array('Authorization: Bearer ' . $api_key));
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// Process the response from the API
echo $response;