Meta has revised its commercial terms of use after legal experts raised concerns that the updated agreement could allow the company to scrape news publishers’ websites and use their content to train artificial intelligence models. The company removed language explicitly permitting AI training and clarified that the website-crawling provisions apply to advertising and business products.
The revision followed an October 15, 2026, investigation by Nieman Journalism Lab, which examined provisions scheduled to take effect on October 30. Legal experts warned that the original wording could grant Meta extensive permissions to collect and reuse material from websites associated with business accounts.
Meta’s Original Terms Raised AI Copyright Concerns
The original agreement authorized Meta to use automated tools, including web crawlers and bots, to access websites connected to businesses using its platforms. It also stated that collected content could be used to develop, improve, research, and train Meta products and services.
Legal experts said the wording could potentially apply to news publishers operating business accounts on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other Meta services. That interpretation raised concerns that publishers might effectively grant permission for their copyrighted content to be collected for AI training simply by continuing to use those accounts.
James Grimmelmann, a digital and information law professor at Cornell University, warned that the provision could allow Meta to build extensive archives of publisher content. Media attorney Matt Topic also questioned whether publishers would have sufficient contractual protections against such usage.
The original terms did not provide a separate opt-out option for businesses that objected to the website-crawling provision. Instead, businesses unwilling to accept the updated agreement would have needed to discontinue using Meta’s products for commercial purposes.
Meta Clarifies Terms but Retains Website Crawling Permissions
Following the criticism, Meta removed the word “train” from the relevant provision and narrowed its stated purpose to advertising and business products. The company said the revision clarified existing practices rather than introducing new website-crawling capabilities.
A Meta spokesperson explained that the company had consolidated previously separate policies covering advertising and business services. Meta also maintained that website owners could continue using robots.txt files to manage automated access to their content.
However, a follow-up analysis by Nieman Journalism Lab found that the revised agreement continues to authorize extensive website crawling. Legal experts argued that allowing collected material to be used to develop business products could still leave uncertainty about its potential application to AI systems.
The company has denied that the changes grant new rights to override publishers’ website-access preferences. Nevertheless, questions remain about how the revised terms will be interpreted and enforced.
AI Training Disputes Continue Across Publishing Industry
The controversy comes as publishers and technology companies continue debating the use of copyrighted material for generative AI training. Meta has previously faced lawsuits over its use of copyrighted books, including a case in which a federal judge ruled in its favor in June 2025.
Other copyright disputes involving AI developers remain ongoing, reflecting disagreements about licensing, permission, and the commercial use of published material.
Meta’s updated commercial terms are scheduled to take effect on October 30, 2026. The company maintains that its web-crawling practices will remain unchanged, although legal experts continue to question the scope of the revised permissions.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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