Meta says it will not implement new business terms for companies until it completes a full consultation with publishers. The controversial update, which grants Meta authority to scrape business websites, was originally slated for October 30, then delayed to November 20. Now, a Meta spokesperson indicates the rollout could be postponed further as the consultation extends beyond that date.
Existing terms remain in place during this review. The backlash has intensified as publishers and lawmakers argue the changes are "outrageous and probably illegal." A group of Norway-based outlets have filed a lawsuit against Meta. California Senator Adam Schiff has called on Meta to walk back the provisions, citing concerns over paywalls and subscription barriers.
While Meta acknowledges the feedback, it has not made substantive changes to the terms since earlier modifications. A Meta spokesperson states the update is "not about scraping news sites" and claims the company will respect robots.txt preferences, though legal experts note these are not legally binding. The situation highlights ongoing tension between platform policies and publisher rights regarding content access and advertising data.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing