Published 10.11.2026
On November 5, Meta paused its new business terms with no new date. They would have let its software visit advertisers' websites and use what it collected. The existing terms remain in force.
In October, Meta updated its business terms: commercial, product catalog, self-serve ad and generative AI ad creative terms. One clause let Meta use automated software to access websites linked to a business's products, index, copy and re-crawl them, and use what it collected in its own products.
How it unfolded
- On October 15–16, Nieman Lab reported the terms. Meta then dropped the word "train" and limited use to advertising and business products.
- On October 23, the start date moved from October 30 to November 20.
- On November 5, the changes were paused with no new date. Meta says its existing terms remain in effect.
Publishers objected, and courts and regulators took up the terms.
What it means for your site
- Nothing changes for now. The new terms haven't taken effect.
- The clause may return. Meta says it will work on the terms with publishers and the industry, but gives no date.
- There would have been no opt-out. The terms were accepted by continuing to use Meta, with no partial opt-out, and they didn't mention robots.txt.
- Meta's bots already crawl sites. Meta-ExternalAgent is one of them. What they may access is set by your robots.txt and bot protection.
Check your site
The free aiseen.cloud check shows in 15 seconds which AI bots your site lets in.
Sources: Nieman Lab, November 5, PPC Land, November 8, PPC Land, October 17.