Meta removes terms tied to scraping and AI training concerns

Meta has removed language from its terms that raised concerns about web scraping and the use of online content to train its artificial intelligence models, according to The Verge.

The provision drew attention after legal experts interviewed by Nieman Lab described it as a “remarkable provision.” They said it could give Meta permission to scrape websites belonging to publishers with Meta business accounts and use the content to train the company’s AI models.

The change comes amid ongoing copyright cases against AI companies, including Meta. Meta won a high-profile lawsuit over alleged copyright infringement last year, according to the source.

A Meta spokesperson previously said the updated terms did not reflect a change in how the company crawls the web. In a statement quoted by The Verge, Meta said the consolidated crawling terms applied only to its ads and business products, and that it had clarified this in the terms. The company said the change did not affect how it uses web crawlers.

The report does not describe any broader change to Meta’s web-crawling practices.