Artificial Intelligence

Meta Removes Language That May Have Allowed AI News Scraping

Meta has updated its commercial terms following widespread backlash and interpretations by legal experts that previous wording permitted the unauthorized scraping of news sites for artificial intelligence training.

Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer

Published: October 17, 2026 · Updated: October 17, 2026 · 3 min read

Meta Removes Language That May Have Allowed AI News Scraping — Image: The Verge

Meta Alters Commercial Terms Amid Backlash

Meta is <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1012846/meta-business-terms-scrape-news-publishers">updating its terms again</a> to address widespread public backlash regarding how the company gathers data from external websites. The tech giant has removed specific language from its platform guidelines that many observers suggested could permit the scraping of content from publisher sites, including news organizations, to train its internal artificial intelligence models.

The phrase in question previously appeared directly on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/legal/commercial_terms_preview">commercial terms page</a>. It stated that Meta might use any available content from specified domains, web pages, or URLs to provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of Meta Company Products, services, and features.

Legal Interpretations and Expert Concerns

Following the publication of these guidelines, industry analysts and legal authorities raised alarms about the breadth of the language. Publications such as <a href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/metas-new-commercial-terms-will-allow-the-scraping-of-news-sites-legal-experts-say/">Neiman Lab</a> analyzed the potential implications alongside digital law specialists.

Experts like James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and information law at Cornell University, viewed the terms as a calculated attempt by Meta to secure legal rights to use scraped content for free. Observers worried that these clauses might be interpreted in a way that superseded standard blocking instructions embedded within a website’s robots.txt file.

Company Pushback and Initial Defense

Initially, representatives for the social media conglomerate rejected claims that the terms represented a shift in data collection strategy. <a href="https://x.com/andymstone/status/2111101865769201850">Andy Stone</a>, Meta’s vice president of communications, along with spokesperson Daniel Roberts, maintained that no alterations had been made to how Meta utilizes web crawlers.

At the time, the communications team argued that any suggestions pointing to unauthorized news scraping or changes in crawler behavior were entirely false.

Subsequent Clarification and Removal of Terms

Despite initial denials, Meta proceeded with a comprehensive update to its documentation, removing the contested language entirely. Daniel Roberts provided a follow-up statement to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1013409/meta-removes-language-that-may-have-allowed-it-to-scrape-news-sites">The Verge</a> to address the core confusion.

According to Roberts, the company heard feedback from the public and wanted to clear up misunderstandings. He emphasized that the consolidated crawling terms were intended strictly for ads and business products rather than general AI training expansion, and the updated policy reflects that distinction.

Reaffirming Respect for Robots.txt Preferences

The latest statements from Meta reiterate that the policy adjustments do not alter standard web crawler operations or grant the corporation any fresh legal rights over third-party material.

Meta confirmed that content owners retain the ability to use robots.txt configurations to signal their preferences regarding web indexing. The company explicitly stated that the terms were never intended to facilitate indiscriminate news site scraping.