Digital publishers and advertisers have called on European Union and United Kingdom regulators to suspend Meta Platforms’ new commercial terms, warning that the changes could give the technology company broad rights to use online content for its artificial intelligence services.
The terms are scheduled to take effect on October 30, 2026. The Movement for an Open Web, an advocacy group representing publishers and digital advertisers, has filed complaints with the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), requesting urgent interim measures.
The group argues that businesses relying on Meta’s advertising and commercial services could face pressure to accept conditions that allow their digital content to be used without meaningful control. It also warned that Meta could use such material to develop AI-powered products that compete with the businesses producing the content.
Meta has rejected the allegations, saying the updated terms apply to its advertising and business products and do not change how its web crawlers operate. The company also said website owners can continue using the robots.txt protocol to communicate their preferences about automated access to their content.
The CMA confirmed it had met Meta to discuss the new terms and was holding urgent discussions as it considered its next steps. The European Commission said it had received the complaint and would assess it under its usual procedures.
The dispute reflects growing tensions between technology companies and content owners over copyright, access to digital material and the use of online content to train AI systems. Publishers are increasingly seeking regulatory intervention to protect their work as AI services expand.
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