Meta Platforms says its revised Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms are scheduled to take effect Nov. 20, after publisher groups challenged how they address website access by businesses using its services.
Meta’s Business Help Center lists Nov. 20, three weeks after the previous Oct. 30 date. Inimino reported on Oct. 23 that the help notice showed Nov. 20 in the languages it checked, while U.K. English, German, French and Spanish versions of the terms preview still showed Oct. 30.
Reuters reported that a Meta spokesperson confirmed the extension by email and said the company wanted the extra time to explain the revisions to partners and other stakeholders. The spokesperson also said Meta would clarify its web-crawler use and that site owners could express preferences through robots.txt.
The European Publishers Council (EPC) said Meta removed an explicit use of the word “train” from its website-access language. The council said the terms describe relevant activity through advertising and business products, as well as product integrity and security, but do not specifically exclude using collected material to refine AI models, provide context or generate and display answers and summaries.
The council said the provisions also cover creating test credentials and periodically collecting website updates, alongside automated handling of website content. Angela Mills Wade, the council’s executive director, said: “Maintaining a business Page or advertising a subscription should not confer general rights over a publisher’s website and archive.”
The Movement for an Open Web said it submitted complaints to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission, asking them to intervene before the terms take effect. The group says businesses cannot opt out of the website-related provisions while continuing to use Meta’s services. Reuters reported that Meta rejected critics’ interpretation that the terms permit the disputed AI uses.
The EPC wants the European Commission to review the provisions under the Digital Markets Act and EU competition law, and to consider temporary measures before Nov. 20.
