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Meta delays new business terms to November 20 after publisher pushback on AI scraping

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Meta delays new business terms to November 20 after publisher pushback on AI scraping

Meta is delaying the enforcement of its new business terms after publishers raised concerns that the terms could allow the company to scrape news sites for AI training. Fast Company reported the story first; The Verge then obtained a statement from Meta.

The terms were originally supposed to go into effect on October 30th. They will now go into effect on November 20th. Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts told The Verge the new date is "to allow more time for us to explain to our partners and stakeholders what’s changing and what’s not." The Verge describes the move as a response to backlash from publishers across the globe, and says Meta is delaying the new terms entirely.

The worry was that the terms appeared to give Meta permission to freely scrape the news sites that use its platforms, while using the material for AI training. Meta had already updated the terms to remove language about "training" its products. Legal experts argued that this change is not enough to rule out the possibility of scraping for AI training.

Pressure came from several directions. The News/Media Alliance sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, demanding that the company revise its business terms over concerns that they would cause "severe harm" to publishers. Digital advertisers and publishers in the European Union and the UK also urged regulators to force Meta to halt its new terms.

Roberts says the delay will give Meta more time to lay out "how Meta uses web crawlers and the fact that content owners will still be able to use robots.txt to signal preferences," referring to the file that signals to scrapers whether they can crawl a site.

Key facts

  • Meta moved enforcement of its new business terms from October 30th to November 20th.
  • Publishers feared the terms appeared to let Meta freely scrape news sites that use its platforms and use the material for AI training.
  • Meta had already removed language about "training" its products, but legal experts said that does not rule out scraping for AI training.
  • The News/Media Alliance wrote to Mark Zuckerberg warning of "severe harm" to publishers; advertisers and publishers in the EU and UK urged regulators to force Meta to halt the terms.
  • Spokesperson Daniel Roberts says the extra time is to explain the changes and that content owners can still use robots.txt to signal preferences.

Why it matters

The terms are a test of who controls publishers' content when a platform also builds AI products. Publishers saw wording that appeared to let Meta scrape news sites that use its platforms and feed the material into AI training. The backlash was strong enough that Meta pushed the effective date back by three weeks, from October 30th to November 20th.

Who it affects

News publishers that use Meta's platforms are the most directly affected, and the News/Media Alliance spoke for them in its letter to Zuckerberg. Digital advertisers and publishers in the European Union and the UK are also involved: they urged regulators to force Meta to halt the terms.

How to use it

Nothing is available to adopt here, but Roberts points to one control. He says content owners will still be able to use robots.txt, the file that signals to scrapers whether they can crawl a site, to signal their preferences. Publishers affected by the terms have until November 20th, when the terms are now due to take effect.

How solid is it

The delay is confirmed by a statement from Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts to The Verge, and Fast Company reported the story earlier. The scraping concern is softer: The Verge says the terms "appeared to" allow it, and the source does not say Meta has confirmed it will scrape news sites for AI training. The legal experts who doubted the revised wording are not named.

Risks and caveats

The delay is not a withdrawal. Roberts frames it as time to explain "what’s changing and what’s not," and the source does not say whether Meta will change the terms again before November 20th. It also does not say whether regulators in the EU or UK have acted. The exact wording of the terms and of the removed "training" language is not given, so the scale of the risk to publishers cannot be judged from this report.

“to allow more time for us to explain to our partners and stakeholders what’s changing and what’s not.”

— Daniel Roberts, Meta spokesperson, in a statement to The Verge