Meta delays updated commercial terms amid advertiser concerns

Meta is facing concerns from publishers and digital advertisers over updated commercial terms that they say could give the tech giant broad rights to use their content for its AI services.

The concerns have reached antitrust authorities in the European Union and the UK, which have received complaints over the updated terms, according to Reuters. Meta has rejected claims that the terms give it unlimited rights to use publishers' and advertisers' content.

The European Commission, which serves as the EU's antitrust watchdog, reportedly welcomed Meta's decision to delay the terms. The Commission has also sent requests for information to companies that have yet to publish summaries detailing the data used to train their AI models.

Don't miss: India orders Meta to take down child sexual abuse ads 

Meanwhile, the European Publishers Council (EPC), which has joined other industry groups in calling for regulators to suspend the updated terms while the issue is investigated, maintained its concerns. The council reportedly said the terms lack clear contractual safeguards around the use of publishers' content, arguing that operating a business page or advertising a subscription should not grant broader rights over a publisher's website and archive.

Amid the pushback, Meta has delayed the implementation of its updated Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms from 30 October to 20 November, reportedly giving the company more time to explain to partners and stakeholders what is and is not changing.

Meta’s updated commercial terms

The updated terms state that businesses using Meta's AI features will be “solely responsible” for the risks associated with the technology and any resulting content, including determining whether that content is suitable for commercial use.

Meta's AI features can help businesses optimise, enhance or create content, but the terms acknowledge that they may make mistakes and may not always produce accurate, complete or suitable results. Businesses will also be prohibited from altering or removing watermarks or content-authenticating metadata generated by AI in connection with content.

Beyond its provisions around AI-generated content, the updated terms also outline the rights businesses provide Meta over their content. Businesses grant Meta a licence to content covered by intellectual property rights that they, or someone acting on their behalf such as an agency, make available on or in connection with Meta's products. Businesses must also own or have secured the necessary rights to grant Meta those licences.

The terms also authorise Meta to use automated software, including web scrapers, bots and crawlers, to access, index, analyse and collect content from domains, webpages or URLs associated with a business's products or services. Meta said this may be used to provide, develop, improve, research and maintain its advertising and business products.

Following concerns over the changes, Meta will reportedly provide further information on how it uses web crawlers and clarify that content owners can continue using robots.txt files to communicate their preferences to web crawlers and AI bots.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out for more information. 

The updated terms come as Meta continues to expand the role of AI across its advertising ecosystem. Earlier this year, the company introduced additional AI tools to its ad review process to identify advertising that could direct users towards child sexual exploitation material hosted outside its platforms.

The move followed changes in tactics used by bad actors, including ads that appeared harmless but contained signals directing users to illegal material elsewhere. Meta subsequently expanded its investigations across its platforms, disabling accounts found to be violating its policies and blocking links associated with the activity.

Related articles: 
Meta is putting more AI and marketing tools behind paid subscriptions   
Lazada deepens creator commerce push through Meta affiliate partnership  
Meta, Shopee expand affiliate partnerships to Instagram