Meta Says Implementation of Controversial New Business Terms May Be Delayed Indefinitely

U.S. tech giant Meta has indicated that it may indefinitely delay the implementation of its controversial new business terms, originally scheduled to take effect on November 20th. This development comes amidst intense backlash from publishers concerned about the company's rights to scrape their content for AI training.

In a post on X, Meta communications head Andy Stone stated that the company does “not plan to make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders.” Stone added, “We’ve heard publishers’ feedback on our proposed ads and business terms update... We’re committed to getting this right, and as we expect this consultation could extend beyond November 20, in which case we’d delay implementation of the updated terms. Until then our existing terms remain in place.”

The new business terms were initially set to go into effect on October 30th but appeared to grant Meta permission to freely scrape news sites using Facebook and Instagram for AI model training. Although Meta revised the language to remove the specific word “train,” legal experts told Nieman Lab that the update was insufficient to rule out such usage. Meta had previously delayed the effective date to November 20th to address these concerns.

Beyond opposition from the News/Media Alliance, lawmakers from both U.S. political parties have spoken out. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) described the terms as an attempt to “exploit American creators and businesses,” while Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) urged Meta to reverse the changes. Additionally, digital advertisers and publishers in the European Union and the UK have called on local regulators to intervene and halt the implementation of the new terms.