Meta pauses commercial terms that would have let it crawl linked sites for AI training

Meta pauses the terms

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters: "We're pausing the changes as we continue to engage with stakeholders and take our time to get this right". The spokesperson added: "In the meantime, our existing terms remain in effect".

Meta removed the new language and pushed back the proposed implementation date, first to 30 October and then to 20 November, after backlash from media and digital rights groups in the United States and Europe, Yahoo Finance Canada reported.

Business account holders had no way to opt out. To keep a business Facebook or Instagram page, they had to allow Meta to crawl any linked external sites, paywalled ones included.

What the terms would have allowed

The clause let Meta use web crawlers and bots to crawl any domain "associated with" a business account and feed that content into its products, including its AI systems. Account holders had to accept crawling of their own servers, not just the posts they uploaded.

Ars Technica reported that the terms required publishers to create test credentials so Meta's bots could get past paywalls.

Courts block the terms

On 3 November, Judge Guilherme Madeira Dezem of the 44th Civil Court in São Paulo suspended that part of the terms and barred Meta from penalising media companies that rejected them, Heise reported. The case was brought by three Brazilian press associations, ANJ, Abert and Aner. The order set a daily fine of 1 million reais, about 162,000 euros, for non-compliance.

A Norwegian court also blocked the terms from taking effect on 20 November until it could assess their legality, Editor and Publisher reported. The Norwegian Media Businesses' Association filed the first lawsuit over the terms.

Regulators and senators move in

The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened a formal investigation into whether Meta was exploiting a dominant position to seize AI training data, Ars Technica reported.

Editor and Publisher reported that Senator Marsha Blackburn, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law, said the update could harm businesses and creators who depend on Meta's platforms.

Editor and Publisher also reported that California Democrat Adam Schiff wrote to Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg asking him to withdraw the terms.

The European Publishers Council told the European Commission the terms violate the Digital Markets Act. Its director, Angela Mills Wade, said publishers must keep control over additional uses of their content, including for AI.

In Canada, Paul Deegan, president and chief executive of News Media Canada, said the revised terms do not spell out that Meta will abide by restrictions. They also do not limit how collected content may be used, he said.

What happens next

Andy Stone, Meta's vice president of communications, said the company would not make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders, Editor and Publisher reported. He said it could delay implementation beyond 20 November if needed.