Meta Terms Let It Scrape Associated Sites From Oct. 30 for Free AI Training
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Oct 16
Meta Terms Let It Scrape Associated Sites From Oct. 30 for Free AI Training
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Oct 16
Summary
Meta’s updated commercial terms, effective Oct. 30, appear to let the company crawl and scrape websites tied to business accounts and use that content to develop and train AI products.
The policy covers businesses promoting content across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, and authorizes bots, crawlers and other automated tools to access domains, pages and URLs associated with their products or services.
For online publishers, the language could let Meta train models on news sites without separate payment, potentially sidestepping licensing deals it has already struck with outlets including CNN, Fox News, USA Today and People.
Businesses that reject the terms risk losing Meta products for commercial use, a pressure point that follows Meta’s recent Meta One subscription, which charges businesses and creators to include links in posts and reels.