Meta has paused its planned commercial terms update as U.K. regulators examine whether businesses using its services must accept website-content rules that may benefit the company’s product development, including artificial intelligence features.
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says the revised language may let Meta gather material from websites linked to businesses and publishers that use its services, then use it to develop products. The inquiry is also examining whether those organizations can refuse that use.
The terms were first scheduled to take effect Oct. 30, then moved to Nov. 20. Meta Vice President of Communications Andy Stone wrote Oct. 28 that the company did “not plan to make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders.” Meta said existing terms would remain in place during the consultation and has not announced a new start date.
The Associated Press reported that Stone described the proposed access as a way to retrieve product information for advertising and content recommendations, rather than to scrape news websites. The CMA opened its investigation Oct. 30 under the Competition Act 1998. The probe will assess whether Meta holds a dominant position in a relevant U.K. market and, if so, whether its existing commercial terms or revisions to them abuse that position. The agency has made no finding that Meta broke the law. EconoTimes previously covered the CMA investigation. Its initial evidence-gathering phase is scheduled to run through January 2027, though the timetable may change.
In Norway, the Norwegian Media Businesses’ Association (MBL) said an Oslo District Court order prevents Meta from applying the disputed provision while its legality is being decided. MBL says 10 media companies sought the injunction; Schibsted says 180 companies backed the legal action. Schibsted said Meta was not heard before the order and may request another hearing. EconoTimes previously reported on the Norwegian court pause.
Schibsted says Meta’s platforms help its media brands reach audiences, while rejecting the terms could cost publishers access to the company’s commercial services. It argues that publishers should negotiate payment before their journalism is used in commercial products. Meta has not set a replacement date for the terms; the CMA’s initial inquiry phase is scheduled to continue through January 2027.
