Meta says it may delay controversial business terms again amid publisher backlash
Meta says it’ll probably delay its controversial new business terms again
- Who
- Meta
- What
- said it may delay implementation its updated business terms beyond November 20 while consulting industry groups and leaders
- When
- Quote
We’ve heard publishers’ feedback on our proposed ads and business terms update,” Stone said.
What happened
Meta says it may delay implementing its updated business terms beyond November 20 as consultations with industry groups and leaders continue. The terms initially appeared to permit AI training on news sites using Facebook and Instagram; legal experts said removing explicit training language did not rule out that possibility. Meta communications head Andy Stone said existing terms would remain in place until the update takes effect.
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See the full storyMeta Revises Business Terms After Publisher Backlash, Says Further Delay Is PossibleThe story so far
Meta revised and postponed its proposed business terms after publishers challenged their implications for AI scraping, and now says implementation could slip beyond November 20 while consultations continue. Meta communications head Andy Stone said existing terms will remain in place until the update takes effect. The company had already moved the start date from October 30 to November 20. The dispute concerns permissions to use content from websites associated with business accounts promoting content across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The Verge initially reported that Meta had removed the controversial language entirely; Ars Technica described the revision as dropping the word “train.” Legal experts told Nieman Lab that the remaining wording could still authorize AI training: attorney Matt Topic said permission to “develop” business products could encompass training. Other experts said the absence of an explicit commitment to respect robots.txt could leave room for scraping despite website owners’ blocking instructions. Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts said the update applies only to ads and business products, leaves crawling practices unchanged, and grants no new rights to override owners’ preferences expressed through robots.txt. Publishing groups in the UK, Europe, and the US have urged regulatory intervention, with the News/Media Alliance calling for the terms to be blocked.
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