Meta drops the word "train" from its commercial terms, but media groups still urge regulators to step in
Meta's commercial terms of service, due to take effect on October 30, have drawn criticism from publisher groups in the US, UK and Europe. They are urging regulators to stop the terms from kicking in, citing concerns about scraping of website content.
Commercial terms of service from Meta, the social media company, are due to take effect on October 30. They have drawn sharp criticism from news publisher groups in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, which are urging regulators to intervene and stop the terms from kicking in. The article's headline says Meta removed the word "train" from the terms, but critics argue this does not resolve the underlying problem.
Concerns over scraping
Benjamin Sobel, a University of Wisconsin law professor, told Nieman Lab that it would help if Meta added specific wording committing the company to respect scraping instructions in robots.txt files. Complying with robots.txt is voluntary, so experts suggested Meta could rely on legally enforceable terms that omit any mention of robots.txt to scrape sites that try to block it. Sobel said a preference can be expressed, but unless it is legally enforceable, it can still be ignored.
Criticism worldwide
Theo Bamber, a chief executive at the UK News Media Association, accused Meta of a "shameless land grab" and "the worst kind of arrogant tech platform bullying." He urged UK regulators to stand up for British creators and the business community by preventing what he called a dreadful precedent.
The European Publishers Council has already asked the European Commission to intervene. Its executive director, Angela Mills Wad, said publishers must be able to decide whether and how their journalism is used and to negotiate fair payment, adding that burying such far-reaching claims in platform terms is no substitute for consent.
Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, which Nieman Lab described as the largest news publishing trade association in the US, called the terms "outrageous and probably illegal." She said Meta's decision to withhold access to its audience unless businesses allow it to scrape their websites is an abuse of market power, and that the policy cannot be allowed to be implemented on October 30.
