Meta has indefinitely postponed updated terms for business accounts, including commercial terms and terms for self-serve advertising. The company announced the decision on October 28, citing complaints from publishers and advertisers.
The terms were originally due to take effect on October 30. The launch had already been pushed back to November 20. At the time, Meta said the delay was needed to give partners and other stakeholders more time to understand what is changing and what is not, including how Meta uses web crawlers.
The disputed wording concerns websites that are “linked” to business accounts. The word “train” was removed from the text, but publishers considered this insufficient. Opting out of the terms without leaving business tools is not possible: the only option for professional accounts is to delete the account.
Company representatives said website owners can control collection via robots.txt, but none of the versions of the terms includes provisions on honoring robots.txt preferences. Lawyers, however, note that robots.txt preferences are not legally binding.
In Norway, the dispute has become a legal one. The Oslo District Court ruled that a court must review the legality of the new terms before they take effect. The lawsuit was filed by ten media groups, including public broadcaster NRK and Schibsted. Complaints have also been filed with antitrust authorities in the EU and the UK, which said the terms give Meta unlimited rights to use their content for AI services.
By comparison, since August 2026 all websites on Google have been able to opt out of having their content used in AI features. Meta’s terms offer no such option.
The company said existing terms remain in effect until consultations are complete. Meta also wrote that consultations could extend beyond November 20, in which case implementation would be postponed again. For media buyers and arbitrageurs whose websites are linked to Meta business accounts, this means the current rules stay in place until consultations end, and the new text will appear only after that.
