Meta removes AI-training language from commercial terms after publisher backlash

What happened

On Oct. 17, 2026, Meta removed the language in its revised Commercial Terms that had raised concerns it could scrape news publishers' websites to train AI models. The updated terms, due to take effect Oct. 30, 2026, had declared Meta could "use any content from [a business account's] domains, web pages, or URLs to provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of" its products and services. Legal experts interviewed by Nieman Lab on Oct. 15 called the provision "remarkable," saying it could give Meta permission to scrape the websites of publishers with Meta business accounts and use the content for AI training.

Meta's position

A Meta spokesperson said the updated terms did not reflect a change in how Meta crawls the web, and Meta said in a statement: "We've heard you and want to clarify: the crawling terms we consolidated only applied to our ads and business products, and we've clarified that in the terms themselves. It does not change how Meta uses web crawlers." Meta's VP of Communications Andy Stone rejected suggestions the update was meant to enable scraping of news websites, saying it was designed to retrieve product information for advertising and content recommendations.

Context

This is a development in a live story: Nieman Lab's Oct. 15 reporting on the same commercial terms (already covered on AI Used My Work). Meta's removal of the provision is the new event here.