Meta’s updated business terms may let it scrape news sites to train AI models

Meta’s updated commercial terms, set to take effect on October 30, 2026, include language that legal experts warn could allow the company to crawl and scrape content from websites ‘associated’ with business accounts on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. According to reporting by Nieman Lab, these terms may enable Meta to use the scraped content to ‘develop, improve, research,’ and ‘train’ its AI products.

The policy explicitly authorizes Meta—or entities acting on its behalf—to use automated tools such as web scrapers and bots to access, index, cache, analyze, collect, retrieve, or crawl domains, web pages, or URLs associated with a business’s products or services. Meta states it may use any content obtained this way to provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of its products and services.

Legal experts cited by Nieman Lab argue that the new terms could allow Meta to ‘argue its commercial terms supersede other blocking instructions,’ such as a site’s robots.txt file, potentially bypassing publisher restrictions and licensing agreements. This interpretation suggests Meta could train its AI models on content posted by online publishers without compensation.

Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts and vice president of communications Andy Stone disputed this interpretation, stating the update is intended to ensure accurate product information is pulled for on-platform ad and content recommendations, not to target news sites. Stone added in a post on X that the change is not meant to enable scraping of news sites.

The policy applies to business accounts that promote content across Meta’s platforms. Businesses that do not agree to the new terms ‘may stop all access or use of our Products for business or commercial purposes,’ according to the terms. This requirement creates a de facto compliance obligation for businesses reliant on Meta’s platforms.

The update follows Meta’s introduction of a Meta One subscription that charges businesses and creators to include links in posts and reels, a move critics argue creates a paradox: Meta charges users to post links to content it may then scrape for free to train its AI models.