Meta is updating its terms of service for business accounts, a change slated to take effect on October 30, 2026. The update involves a consolidation of commercial terms across its suite of platforms, which includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, and Messenger. While Meta has revised the language to remove the specific word "train"—a move made after reports suggested the terms would allow the company to use scraped content to train AI models—legal experts argue the remaining language still provides Meta with expansive permissions to collect data from news sites and other business-associated domains.
The revised terms authorize Meta (or entities acting on its behalf) to use automated software, such as web scrapers and crawlers, to access and index content associated with a user's products or services. Specifically, the terms allow Meta to use this content to "provide, develop, improve, research, and maintain advertising and business products." While Meta's spokesperson stated that these terms only apply to ads and business products and that publishers can still use robots.txt files to block crawlers, legal analysts remain skeptical. They point out that the term "business products" is not strictly defined, and the word "develop" is broad enough to encompass the training of AI models. Furthermore, because robots.txt is a voluntary preference rather than a legally enforceable mandate, it may not provide a definitive barrier against automated scraping.
The update involves a consolidation of commercial terms across its suite of platforms, which includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, and Messenger.
This policy shift has prompted pushback from several journalism organizations and trade associations. The European Publishers Council and the United Kingdom News Media Association have called for regulatory intervention, expressing concerns over copyright and market power. In the United States, the News/Media Alliance has denounced the terms as an "abuse of the company's market power." Because virtually every news organization maintains at least one Meta business account to manage its social media presence, the new terms effectively create a mechanism where continued use of Meta's tools may require consenting to the scraping of the organization's primary web content.
The revised terms authorize Meta (or entities acting on its behalf) to use automated software, such as web scrapers and crawlers, to access and index content associated with a user's products or services.