Meta drops AI training language from its business terms
Meta removed a clause from its updated commercial terms that would have let it use content from sites tied to business accounts to train its products, TechCrunch reports. The crawling permission stays, and it takes effect Oct. 30.
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The worst line is gone. The crawler permission stays.
Meta removed language from its updated commercial terms that would have let it use content from sites tied to business accounts to train its products, TechCrunch reported on Oct. 17, citing The Verge. The revised preview terms take effect Oct. 30.
What the terms said, and what they say now
The earlier text said Meta could "use any content from" the domains, web pages or URLs of a business account to provide, develop, improve, research and train its products and services, according to TechCrunch. Legal experts interviewed by Nieman Lab called it a "remarkable provision" that could let Meta scrape publishers' sites and train AI models on them, TechCrunch reports.
That clause is out.
What remains: the preview terms still let Meta use automated software, "such as web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents," to access and collect content from the domains, web pages or URLs tied to your products or services. The current text ties that permission to Meta's advertising and business products, and to the integrity and security of its products. It does not mention training.
Meta says nothing changed in practice
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone posted on Oct. 16 that the reports were false, according to Search Engine Journal. He said the update helps Meta pull accurate product information from third-party sites for ads and recommendations, and is "not about scraping news sites." A Meta spokesperson also told Nieman Lab that content owners can still manage access with robots.txt, SEJ reports.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Meta said "the crawling terms we consolidated only applied to our ads and business products." It added: "It does not change how Meta uses web crawlers."
Take Meta at its word on intent. The terms are what bind, and the training line was the one with reach: it covered any content on any linked site.
What it means if your site is tied to Meta
If you run ads or a business account linked to your domain, these are terms you accept. From Oct. 30, they cover Meta's crawlers on your pages.
Check your robots.txt. Meta says that's how you manage access, so make it say what you actually want for Meta's crawlers.
If you publish news or other content you license, read the final text yourself before Oct. 30. This version has already changed once since it was posted.
What to watch
Oct. 30 is when these terms bind. Watch whether training language returns in any other Meta policy before then.
Read the terms, not the backlash.
Questions people ask
Can Meta use my website to train AI?
Meta removed a clause from its updated commercial terms that would have let it use content from sites tied to business accounts to train its products, TechCrunch reports. The remaining crawling permission is tied to Meta's ads and business products.
When do Meta's new commercial terms take effect?
October 30, 2026.
How do I block Meta's crawler?
Meta says content owners can still manage how their content is accessed using robots.txt.
Sources
- [1]TechCrunch techcrunch.com/2026/10/17/meta-removes-language-that-raised-scraping-and-ai-training-concerns/
- [2]Andy Stone (Meta) on X x.com/andymstone/status/2111101865769201850
- [3]Search Engine Journal searchenginejournal.com/metas-new-terms-expand-crawling-rights-beyond-advertisers/593217/
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- Oct 18, 2026, 04:50 ET