{"slug": "metas-new-terms-may-allow-it-to-train-ai-on-news-sites-for-free", "title": "Meta’s new terms may allow it to train AI on news sites for free", "summary": "Meta's new Commercial Terms, effective October 30th, authorize the company to use automated scrapers, bots, crawlers and user agents to access, index, cache and crawl domains and web pages \"associated\" with businesses that use its platforms, and to use that content to \"develop, improve, research, train\" its AI products, according to a report from Nieman Lab. The terms apply to business accounts promoting content across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, and businesses that do not agree \"may stop all access or use of our Products for business or commercial purposes.\" Nieman Lab noted that Meta has begun charging users to post links to the same content it will be permitted to crawl for free, and Meta did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment.", "body_md": "Meta’s new terms appear to give it permission to crawl and scrape websites “associated” with the businesses that use its platforms — including online publishers, according to [a report from *Nieman Lab*](https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/metas-new-commercial-terms-will-allow-the-scraping-of-news-sites-legal-experts-say/). The [new terms](https://www.facebook.com/legal/commercial_terms_preview), which go into effect on October 30th, say Meta can use this outside content to “develop, improve, research,” and “train” its AI products.\n\n# Meta’s new terms may allow it to train AI on news sites for free\n\nThe new policy allows Meta to crawl all websites ‘associated’ with a business account.\n\nThe new policy applies to business accounts that promote their content across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. As pointed out by *Nieman Lab*, these terms seem to allow Meta to bypass a licensing agreement and train its AI models on content posted by online publishers. Meta has followed [OpenAI](https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/22/24162782/openai-licensing-deal-wall-street-journal-news-corp) in [striking AI licensing deals with CNN](https://www.theverge.com/news/838927/meta-ai-licensing-deals-cnn-fox-news-usa-today), Fox News, *USA Today*, and People Inc., but these terms could give the company access to a much broader swath of content:\n\nYou authorize us (or any entity acting on our behalf) to use automated software (such as web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents) and create test credentials to access, index, cache, analyze, collect, retrieve, or crawl the domains, web pages, or URLs (and any content available through them) that are associated with your products or services, or that are made available through your or users’ use of Meta Company Products and services, and to periodically pull updates from such domains, web pages, or URLs. Meta may use any content from such domains, web pages, or URLs to provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of, the Meta Company Products, services, and features provided under these Commercial Terms and any other applicable supplemental terms.\n\nBusinesses that don’t agree to Meta’s new policies “may stop all access or use of our Products for business or commercial purposes,” the terms say. Last month, Meta [launched a new Meta One subscription](https://www.theverge.com/tech/995453/meta-one-subscriptions-ai) that requires businesses and creators to pay to include links in posts and reels. “Put another way, Meta has begun charging users to post links to the same content that it will be permitted to crawl for free,” *Nieman Lab* says.\n\nMeta didn’t immediately respond to *The Verge*’s request for comment.\n\n**Follow topics and authors** from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/metas-new-terms-may-allow-it-to-train-ai-on-news-sites-for-free", "canonical_source": "https://www.theverge.com/tech/1012846/meta-business-terms-scrape-news-publishers", "published_at": "2026-10-16 14:02:40+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-16 14:48:43.513774+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-crawlers", "artificial-intelligence", "generative-ai"], "entities": ["Meta", "Nieman Lab", "The Verge", "Facebook", "Instagram", "WhatsApp", "Messenger", "Meta One"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/metas-new-terms-may-allow-it-to-train-ai-on-news-sites-for-free", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/metas-new-terms-may-allow-it-to-train-ai-on-news-sites-for-free.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/metas-new-terms-may-allow-it-to-train-ai-on-news-sites-for-free.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/metas-new-terms-may-allow-it-to-train-ai-on-news-sites-for-free.jsonld"}}