Meta delays update that could let it scrape news websites
What's the story
Meta Platforms has delayed a controversial update to its commercial terms for business accounts. The change, which critics say would give the social media giant broad powers to crawl and scrape web content associated with those accounts, was originally scheduled for October 30. However, without any prior notice, Meta has pushed back the date by three weeks to November 20.
Publisher response
Update pushed back to November 20
The delay comes after a major trade group for news publishers sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to withdraw the upcoming terms.
Despite the new effective date, the controversial language in these updated terms still appears to be intact as of Friday.
A Meta spokesperson told Fast Company that they are extending the effective date of their updated Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms "to allow more time for us to explain."
Scraping concerns
Backlash from news publishers over potential content scraping
The update, first reported by Nieman Lab on October 15, has drawn strong criticism from news publishers who heavily rely on Meta's platforms for distribution.
They are concerned about the possibility of their content being scraped by Meta and used at its discretion.
The backlash has been particularly strong given how deeply integrated these publications are in Meta's platforms as part of their business model.