Meta Postpones New Website Crawling Terms Amid Publisher Concerns

Meta has postponed the start date of its new business terms from October 30 to November 20, according to a report by Reuters. Publishers have expressed concerns that these terms would permit Meta to crawl their websites for content used in its products.

The delay was announced a day after the News/Media Alliance, representing over 2,000 U.S. publishers, urged Meta to withdraw the terms. The organization stated that publishers cannot effectively block Meta’s crawlers, as their advertising relies on them.

A Meta spokesperson explained that the delay is intended to provide more time to clarify the changes to partners and stakeholders. Despite the postponement, the language of the terms remains unchanged, and Meta plans to proceed with them.

Website owners can still utilize the robots.txt file, which instructs crawlers on which pages to avoid. Some web services, like Cloudflare, have begun to block AI training crawlers by default on many ad-supported pages.

The new terms apply to businesses using Meta’s tools, including ads and Facebook Pages, allowing automated crawlers to access linked websites and use their content for advertising and business development. Businesses automatically accept these terms by utilizing Meta’s services.

Last week, Meta removed the term “train” from the terms following public outcry. However, publishers argue that the revised wording still permits AI training. Five major publishers are currently suing Meta, alleging that the company unlawfully used their books to train its Llama models.

In Europe, pressure is mounting as publishers have requested regulators in the EU and UK to suspend the terms. The UK’s competition watchdog has also sought clarification from Meta regarding these terms.

Source: The Next Web