--- title: "Meta may delay its scraping terms again as publishers push back" description: "Meta says it might push back its new business terms a second time while it consults publishers, but the wording that worries them has not changed." url: https://tech.skoop.news/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-36148f/ published: 2026-11-03T04:12:11.605940-05:00 modified: 2026-11-03T04:12:11.605960-05:00 section: "Tech & Apps" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["Meta", "California Senator Adam Schiff", "Andy Stone", "Daniel Roberts", "European Union", "Fast Company", "Mark Zuckerberg", "Facebook", "software"] hashtags: ["#CaliforniaSenatorAdamSchiff", "#AndyStone", "#DanielRoberts", "#tech", "#ai"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Smartphone.png/1280px-Smartphone.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # Meta may delay its scraping terms again as publishers push back > Meta says it might push back its new business terms a second time while it consults publishers, but the wording that worries them has not changed. Published 2026-11-03 · Updated 2026-11-03 · Tech & Apps, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - Meta says it might push back implementation of its new business terms as it plans a full consultation with publishers. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) - The new terms state that Meta has the authority to use automated software, such as web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents, to access businesses' websites. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) - Meta is delaying enforcement after publishers raised concerns that the terms could allow the company to scrape news sites for AI training. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) ## A delay that may get longer Meta says it might push back implementation of its new business terms as it plans a full consultation with publishers. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) That matters to any business that uses Facebook, because the terms give Meta authority to scrape its website. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) The terms were originally supposed to go into effect on October 30. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Meta delayed the effective date to November 20 after an outcry. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Meta spokesperson Andy Stone now says the implementation could be pushed back again, though Meta still lists November 20 on its website. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) ## What the terms say The new terms state that Meta has the authority to use automated software, such as web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers, and user agents, to access businesses' websites. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) The stated purpose is to provide, develop, improve, research, and maintain advertising and business products. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Publishers read the terms as something broader. They appeared to give Meta permission to freely scrape news sites that use its platforms and use the material for AI training. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) Fast Company first reported the publisher concerns. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) Earlier in the month Meta removed the word train from its terms and added a reference to advertising and business products. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Legal experts argued that the change is not enough to rule out the possibility of AI training use. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) Meta has made no substantive changes since. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) ## What Meta says about the delay Meta is delaying enforcement after publishers raised concerns that the terms could allow the company to scrape news sites for AI training. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) Spokesperson Daniel Roberts said the terms will go into effect on November 20 to allow more time to explain changes to partners and stakeholders. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) Roberts said the delay also gives Meta time to explain how it uses web crawlers and that content owners can still use robots.txt to signal preferences. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) Stone said in a post on X that Meta does not plan to make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) He said Meta's existing terms remain in place until the consultation is complete. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Meta did not immediately respond to questions about whether it planned further changes to its terms. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) ## The robots.txt question The robots.txt file signals to scrapers whether they can crawl a site. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) Stone has said the new terms are not about scraping news sites and that Meta will respect content owners' robots.txt preferences. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Legal experts and publishing groups say robots.txt preferences are not legally binding and that AI companies regularly ignore them. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Meta's terms also make no reference to robots.txt, as Schiff points out in his letter. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) ## Who is objecting The News/Media Alliance sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday demanding that Meta revise its business terms over concerns they would cause severe harm to publishers. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) One industry group described the change as outrageous and probably illegal. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Digital advertisers and publishers in the European Union and the UK urged regulators to force Meta to halt its new terms. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) A group of Norway-based outlets has filed a lawsuit against Meta over the new terms. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) California Senator Adam Schiff became the second lawmaker to call on Meta to walk back the changes. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) He wrote in a letter to Zuckerberg that the breadth of the updated provisions is extraordinary and that Meta asserts an alarming opening to bypass technical measures such as paywalls. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Schiff also said the updated terms provide no mechanism for businesses to opt out of scraping while keeping their account presence. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) ## What this means for you If your business uses Facebook, the terms give Meta authority to scrape your website. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) For now, Stone said Meta's existing terms remain in place until the consultation is complete. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Meta still lists November 20 as the effective date, but Stone says it could move. [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) Meta says content owners can still use robots.txt to signal preferences, though those preferences are not legally binding and the terms do not mention the file. [[2]](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) [[1]](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) ## Sources 1. [Meta Weighs Delaying 'Alarming' New Business Terms As Backlash Grows](https://www.engadget.com/2300293/meta-weighs-delaying-alarming-new-business-terms-as-backlash-grows/) — Engadget 2. [Meta delays new business terms after publisher pushback on AI scraping](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017450/meta-business-terms-delayed-ai-scraping) — The Verge Image: Photo (illustrative): Ka Kit Pang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smartphone.png) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/