Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Meta Updates Commercial Terms To Let It Train AI From Linked Business Websites Starting October 30
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Meta's updated Commercial Terms require business accounts to allow scraping of websites for AI training. Starting Oct 30, 2026, there is no opt-out option for scraping by business accounts.
Oct. 30 Terms
Meta is set to update its commercial terms of service so that, beginning October 30, business accounts must permit Meta to train its AI models on content from linked sites, not just posts on Meta platforms. Meta’s updated language authorizes the company “to use automated software (such as web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents)” and to create “test credentials” to access, index, cache, analyze, collect, retrieve, or crawl domains, web pages, or URLs tied to business products or services.
Meta’s terms also state that Meta may use “any content from such domains, web pages, or URLs” to “provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of” Meta’s products, services, and features. Meta’s spokesperson told Nieman Lab that the company does not intend to use the terms as a legal basis to ignore robots.txt instructions, and the spokesperson said it still allows news organizations to opt out and provides guidance on how to block crawling.
No Opt-Out
Meta’s terms are described as having “no option to opt out,” and the update tells businesses that if they do not agree they must stop all access or use of Meta’s products for business or commercial purposes. The Verge reported that businesses that do not agree to Meta’s new policies “may stop all access or use of our Products for business or commercial purposes,” framing the choice as accept the terms or walk away from Meta’s business products.
Legal experts told Nieman Lab that the new language could let Meta argue its commercial terms supersede other blocking instructions, including a site’s robots.txt file, and Nieman Lab said the update reads “If you do not agree to the updated terms, please stop all access or use of our Products for business or commercial purposes.” James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and information law at Cornell, warned that “For news publishers, this clearly represents permission to Meta to train AI on any content from their sites” and possibly deploy it “even in competition with the publishers themselves.”
Licensing Market Stakes
Meta’s terms are being treated as a potential route around AI licensing fees, with legal observers warning that the clause could give Meta access to material that “would likely cost many millions of dollars in a licensing market.” Nieman Lab quoted Matt Topic saying the provision is “a remarkable provision to bury in [the] terms of service,” and Topic advised publishers to assume it would be enforceable.
Meta’s vice president of communications, Andy Stone, pushed back by writing that the update is “designed to make sure we’re able to pull accurate information about products for sale on third-party websites when making on-platform ad and content recommendations, not about scraping news sites.” The News/Media Alliance said Meta’s policy is “outrageous and probably illegal,” and Danielle Coffey, President and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, argued that “It cannot be allowed to be implemented on October 30.”