Meta removes clause that raised web scraping, AI training concerns
What's the story
Meta has revised its commercial terms of use, removing a controversial clause that raised concerns over web scraping and artificial intelligence (AI) training. The original provision stated that Meta's commercial terms of use 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 flagged this as a potential loophole for Meta to scrape publisher websites associated with its business accounts.
Clarification
No change in web crawling practices
In response to the concerns, Meta's VP of communications, Andy Stone, has denied any changes to their web crawling practices.
He said the updated terms don't change how Meta uses web crawlers. Content owners can still use robots.txt to indicate their preferences.
The Verge has now reported that the controversial provision has been removed from Meta's terms of service.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Stone's response
This is false. There's no change to how Meta uses web crawlers. As always, content owners can use robots.txt flags to indicate their preferences. This update is designed to make sure we’re able to pull accurate information about products for sale on third-party websites when… https://t.co/8rhmCjF9u2
— Andy Stone (@andymstone) October 16, 2026
Rights clarification
Revised terms apply only to Meta's ads and business products
In a follow-up statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts said, "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,"
The clarification comes after widespread criticism over the initial language in the commercial terms, which many interpreted as an attempt to bypass site blocking instructions for AI training purposes.