Meta Weighs Delaying New Business Terms as Backlash Grows

Meta says it may delay new terms for businesses that use Facebook after backlash over the policy, while planning a full consultation with publishers. The terms would give Meta authority to scrape business websites using automated software, and the company still lists November 20 as the implementation date. Meta has not changed the language of the terms beyond earlier edits.

Possible delay after consultation

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company cares deeply about partners and does not plan to make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders. He said the consultation could extend beyond November 20, in which case Meta would delay implementation of the updated terms, and that existing terms remain in place until then. Meta originally planned the terms for October 30, then delayed them to November 20 after an outcry. Stone posted the statement on X on October 28, 2026.

What the updated terms allow

The new terms state that Meta has authority to use automated software, including web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents, to access business websites. The stated purpose is to provide, develop, improve, research, and maintain advertising and business products. Meta has not made substantive changes to the terms since it removed the word "train" and added a reference to advertising and business products earlier this month.

Backlash from publishers and lawmakers

Publishers have raised significant concerns, and one industry group described the change as "outrageous and probably illegal." A group of outlets in Norway has filed a lawsuit against Meta over the new terms. California Senator Adam Schiff became the second lawmaker to call on Meta to walk back the changes, writing in a letter to Mark Zuckerberg that "the breadth of these updated provisions is extraordinary." Schiff said Meta asserts an alarming opening to bypass technical measures essential to the economic security of news organizations and creators who rely on subscriptions, including paywalls, registration gates, and digital subscriber barriers. He also said the terms provide no mechanism for businesses to opt out of scraping while maintaining their account presence.

Robots.txt and unanswered questions

Stone has said the new terms are not about scraping news sites and that Meta will respect content owners' robots.txt preferences. Legal experts and publishing groups have pointed out that robots.txt preferences are not legally binding, and that AI companies regularly ignore these instructions. Schiff said Meta makes no reference to robots.txt in its terms, and wrote that without specific language codifying Meta's policy to respect robots.txt signals, users lack any reliable means to protect their content. Meta did not immediately respond to questions about whether it was planning further changes to its terms.

Sources: Engadget · The Verge