Meta may delay controversial business terms again amid publisher backlash
What's the story
Meta is considering delaying the implementation of its controversial new terms for businesses, in light of growing criticism. The company had initially planned to enforce these terms from October 30 but postponed the date to November 20 after widespread backlash. Now, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone has hinted that further delays could be possible as they plan "a full consultation" with publishers.
Policy assurance
We're committed to getting this right, says Meta
Stone has assured that the company values its partners and doesn't intend to make policy changes without thorough discussions with industry groups and leaders.
He said, "We're committed to getting this right, and as we expect this consultation could extend beyond November 20, in which case we'd delay implementation of the updated terms."
Until then, he added, the existing terms will remain in place.
Controversial provisions
What's the issue with Meta's new terms?
The new terms give Meta the right to scrape the websites of businesses using Facebook.
They also say that Meta can use automated software (like web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents) to access these sites "in order to provide, develop, improve, research, and maintain advertising and business products."
This has raised major concerns among publishers with one industry group calling it "outrageous and probably illegal."
Twitter Post
Stone's post
We've heard publishers' feedback on our proposed ads and business terms update. We care deeply about our partners and do not plan to make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders.
— Andy Stone (@andymstone) October 28, 2026
We're committed to getting this right, and as we expect this… https://t.co/t91Q1QU8mu
Rising opposition
Norwegian outlets have sued Meta over the new terms
A group of Norwegian outlets has sued Meta over the new terms.
California Senator Adam Schiff has also urged Meta to reconsider its decision.
He criticized the updated provisions as "extraordinary" and warned that they could allow Meta to bypass technical measures crucial for the economic security of news organizations and subscription-based creators.
Policy clarification
New terms not about scraping news sites, says Stone
In response to the backlash, Meta has not made any major changes to its terms.
The company removed the word "train" and added a reference to "advertising and business products" earlier this month.
Stone clarified that the new terms are "not about scraping news sites" and promised that Meta will respect content owners' robots.txt preferences.
However, legal experts have pointed out that these preferences aren't legally binding.
Policy debate
Meta hasn't clarified if it will make further changes
Despite the controversy, Meta has remained silent on whether it plans to make further changes to its terms.
The company doesn't mention robots.txt in its terms, which Schiff highlighted in his letter.
He wrote, "Without the insertion of specific language codifying Meta's policy to respect robots.txt signals into the latest contractual terms, users lack any reliable means by which to protect their content."