Meta’s quiet rewrite of the rules for the open web
Meta has updated its commercial terms to allow for broader data scraping, raising concerns among publishers and businesses. The company clarified that it respects robots.txt files, though critics remain wary of how the data may be used for AI training.
Why it matters
This policy shift highlights the ongoing tension between tech giants and content creators regarding data ownership and the development of AI models.
Meta’s quiet rewrite of the rules for the open web left US President Donald Trump speaks with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg [File] REUTERS REUTERS https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/j352z1/article71610028.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/2026-09-29T205727Z_604507813_RC28TNABGQIK_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP.JPG KEVIN LAMARQUE US President Donald Trump speaks with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the White House driveway following a luncheon for tech leaders in the East Room, in Washington, D.C., US, September 29, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Accepting the new terms means Meta, or anyone acting on its behalf, can use “web scrapers, bots, robots, spiders, crawlers.” Businesses, publishers and news organisations should be uneasy about an update to Meta’s Commercial Terms that is set to take effect on October 30. The new legal term lets Meta send its bots and crawlers into any website “associated with” a business account on its platform.
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