Meta is delaying the effective date of its new Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms from Oct. 30 to Nov. 20 after pushback from publishers around the world.
Why it matters: The Menlo Park company's terms would apply to nearly every news organization, since virtually all have at least one business account on Meta's platforms, Nieman Lab notes.
What the terms say
Nieman Lab, which first reported on the terms Oct. 15, says they would allow mass scraping of websites "associated with" business accounts on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. On Oct. 16 Meta removed the word "train" and limited use of scraped content to "advertising and business products." The Verge reports publishers worried the terms could allow scraping of news sites for AI training.
Meta's response
A Meta spokesperson told Nieman Lab the delay allows "more time for us to explain to our partners and stakeholders what's changing and what's not," and said content owners can still use robots.txt to signal preferences. Legal experts quoted by Nieman Lab remain skeptical.
Sources: The Verge; Nieman Lab.