Meta removes terms allowing AI scraping of news sites
Meta updated its commercial terms today to remove language that permitted scraping content from news websites for artificial intelligence training.
Controversial clause removed from text
The company deleted specific wording from its commercial terms page that suggested it could use content from various domains. Experts previously interpreted this language as a right to scrape data without following robots.txt blocking instructions. Meta officials stated there was no change to how web crawlers actually function.
Company denies scraping capabilities
Spokesperson Daniel Roberts issued a follow-up statement addressing the backlash regarding the terms update. He clarified that suggestions about altered crawler behavior are false according to the spokesperson. The new statement and updated terms now eliminate the disputed language entirely.
Update follows public criticism
Meta made these changes after receiving feedback from groups including Neiman Lab. The update addresses concerns that the previous text allowed free use of scraped content. This revision aims to clarify the boundaries of data usage under the current agreement.
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