Meta delays scraping terms after media outcry and Norwegian court order
The company postponed new business account rules that would allow automated data collection after backlash from publishers and regulators.
What to know
- Meta postponed new business terms that would authorize automated web scraping, after a Norwegian court granted a temporary injunction and the U.K. launched a competition investigation.
- Legal experts and media companies argued the terms could allow Meta to scrape news content and train competing AI services without compensation, despite Meta's claim the update only affects ad targeting.
- The dispute hinges on dominant-market-power concerns: regulators and publishers contend Meta is imposing unfair conditions by requiring acceptance of the terms to use its platforms.
- Meta removed the word 'train' from the terms after the Nieman Lab report raised legal questions, and says it will now consult with industry groups before moving forward.
Meta Technology company proposing new termsNorwegian Media Businesses' Association (MBL) Trade group representing 97% of Norwegian newspaper circulationAssociation of American Publishers (AAP) U.S. trade organization for publishersU.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) British competition regulatorNieman Journalism Lab Harvard journalism research center
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Meta formally delays rollout of new business account terms
Meta announced it was postponing implementation of the new terms, originally scheduled for Oct. 30, and said existing terms would remain in place pending further consultation with industry groups.
“This 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.”
— Andy Stone, Meta spokesman · source -
first by Quartz, 9d ago · also Japan Today, Orlando Sentinel, Mercury News, AP News, Chicago Tribune, Independent UK +1
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Association of American Publishers demands Meta drop the terms — The AAP called on Meta to abandon the new terms, arguing the company was abusing dominant market power by compelling consent from all commercial users.
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U.K. Competition and Markets Authority opens investigation — The CMA launched an investigation into whether Meta's terms constitute an unlawful imposition of unfair trading conditions on news publishers and content businesses.
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Meta removes 'train' language from terms and pledges consultation — Following the Nieman Lab report, Meta removed the word "train" from the updated terms. Meta spokesman Andy Stone posted on X that the company would pause implementation and consult with industry groups.
- 4 days quiet
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Norwegian court grants temporary injunction against Meta's new terms
A Norwegian court suspended Meta's new terms pending legal assessment at the request of 180 Norwegian media companies, whose case was backed by the Norwegian Media Businesses' Association representing roughly 97% of Norwegian newspaper circulation.
“We are satisfied that the court has agreed with us that Meta holds a dominant position in the relevant market and that the new terms are unreasonable.”
— Lene Eltvik Vindfeld -
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Nieman Lab warns new terms could permit scraping news for AI training — Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab published an analysis concluding that as written, the terms "could be used to argue that Meta can scrape content from news sites and use that content to train the company's AI products," after consulting three legal experts.
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Meta announces new business terms authorizing web scraping — Meta spokesman Andy Stone posted that the company would implement new terms for business accounts authorizing automated software to "index, cache, analyze, collect, retrieve, or crawl the domains, web pages, or URLs" associated with business accounts, designed to improve product recommendations on ads.