Featured image: A white Apple iMac desktop computer is the main foreground subject. AI-generated image; not a photograph of the reported event.
Meta has removed a clause from its commercial terms of use that raised concerns about web scraping and AI training.
What Happened
Earlier this month, Meta updated its commercial terms of use.
One clause stated the company could use content from business accounts’ domains, web pages, or URLs to train, improve, and research its products and services.
Legal experts at Nieman Lab called this a ‘remarkable provision’ that could allow Meta to scrape any publisher’s website if the publisher has a Meta business account.
Within hours, The Verge reported the clause had been removed. Meta confirmed the change in a public statement.
Meta’s Clarification
A Meta spokesperson said the updated terms only apply to ads and business products.
‘We’ve heard you and want to clarify: the crawling terms we consolidated only applied to our ads and business products,’ the spokesperson said.
Meta added that the change does not affect how it uses web crawlers or collects data from public websites.
Why It Mattered
Content creators feared Meta could train AI models on their sites without permission or payment.
Meta won a major copyright case last year. But legal challenges over AI training continue.
The update raised concerns about transparency and data ownership.
Limitations of the Change
Experts say removing the clause doesn’t prove Meta stops scraping websites.
Meta has not disclosed how it collects or uses public content.
Legal experts believe the change may be a public relations move, not a real shift in policy.
What to Watch Next
Future updates to Meta’s terms of use should be closely monitored.
Any new language about content use or AI training must be examined carefully.
Source: TechCrunch
