The delay followed pressure from the News/Media Alliance, a trade group whose members include more than 2,000 U.S. publishers. The group demanded that Meta withdraw the terms over language authorising the company to crawl websites associated with business accounts. Publishers and digital advertisers also complained to EU and UK antitrust authorities, arguing the terms would give Meta an unlimited right to use their content for its AI services. The European Commission said it welcomed the delay while discussions with the company continue. Meta rejects the claim that the terms grant that right.
The disputed clause authorises Meta to use "automated software (such as web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents) and create test credentials" to access and crawl websites linked to a business's products or services. An earlier draft used the word "train," which Meta removed after objections. The News/Media Alliance says the replacement language is undefined and still very broad. Its president, Danielle Coffey, called the terms "outrageous and probably illegal" in a 16 October statement. Reports do not confirm whether the delay will prevent regulatory action, and whether the terms permit scraping for AI training remains the critics' reading, not a settled finding.
For attorneys advising publishers or advertisers, the three-week window is the key period to watch. Check whether Meta publishes revised wording before 20 November, since the current text is what counts. Clients with business accounts should review what sites their Meta products link to and whether they have access controls or robots.txt rules in place. Watch for action from EU and UK competition authorities, which are now assessing a clause that bears directly on how AI firms can access publisher content.