Meta pauses plan to scrape websites linked to business accounts
What's the story
Meta has decided to indefinitely suspend its proposed commercial terms of service, which would have allowed the company to scrape websites of users with a Meta Business account. The decision comes after widespread criticism from news publishers, politicians, and trade organizations around the world. The social media giant confirmed the delay in a statement to Nieman Lab.
Company statement
Proposed terms on hold, will not come into effect
"We're pausing the changes as we continue to engage with stakeholders and take our time to get this right," a Meta spokesperson told Nieman Lab.
The company had previously announced updates to its Commercial Terms, Product Catalog Terms, Self-Serve Ad Terms, and Ad Creative Generative AI Terms.
However, these updates are now on hold and will not come into effect on November 20, 2026.
Timeline
Global outrage over proposed terms
The proposed terms were first set to take effect on October 30, sparking global outrage.
On October 16, Meta removed the word "train" from its terms and limited future scraped content use to "advertising and business products."
The company later pledged to consult news publishers and industry leaders before implementing new commercial terms.
Legal scrutiny
Legal challenges and bipartisan concern
Following the proposed terms, courts in Norway and Brazil issued preliminary injunctions to stop them from coming into effect.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority has also launched an investigation into Meta for potentially abusing its dominant position by imposing exploitative terms on publishers and advertisers.
In the US, bipartisan concern was raised over the proposed terms, with Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) writing to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to withdraw them.