Meta has abandoned plans to update its commercial terms of service, reversing a controversial proposal that would have allowed AI training on Facebook page content. The change followed bipartisan criticism from US Senators Adam Schiff and Marsha Blackburn, who sent letters demanding Meta withdraw the terms. Meta's Vice President of Communications, Andy Stone, confirmed the company would pause the update to consult with industry groups.
While Meta insists it will not use terms of service to bypass robots.txt, the episode highlights ongoing tension between platforms and publishers over AI data scraping. Regulatory scrutiny intensified as Meta sought to reassure content owners, though it stopped short of adding specific language about respecting robots.txt preferences in revised terms.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing