Several points remain open. Meta says the terms apply only to its ads and business products and do not change how it uses web crawlers, but it has not said what is changing. Publishers say the wording still lets Meta crawl their sites for product development. Meta says robots.txt settings will still be honored. Publishers and digital advertisers have argued the terms would give Meta unlimited rights to use their content for AI services. Meta's October 16 removal of the word "train" from the terms has not satisfied critics, including Senator Marsha Blackburn, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, who said the revisions did not go far enough. Publishers have also asked UK and EU competition authorities to pause the terms, and the European Commission has said it welcomed the delay during ongoing discussions with the company.
For attorneys, the delay moves the decision point but does not remove it. Clients with business accounts should review the terms now and check their robots.txt configurations, since the update warned that anyone who does not accept it should stop using Meta's products for business purposes. Business accounts had no opt-out option before October 30, so watch whether Meta adds one before November 20. Five major publishers are already suing Meta, alleging it pirated their books to train its Llama models, and that litigation may shape how regulators and courts read the new clause. The November 20 deadline gives publishers, lawmakers, and regulators a short window to press for changes or withdrawal.