Meta removes train from commercial terms of service
Ars Technica: Meta drops the word "train" from its commercial TOS after AI backlash
Hoping to quell criticism, Meta has dropped the word “train” from its “streamlined” commercial terms of service that kick in on October 30. Last week, Meta faced backlash after legal experts warned that the tech giant’s sweeping new commercial terms of service seemed to give Meta permission to endlessly scrape websites linked on business pages. Talking to Nieman Lab, experts suggested that Meta could possibly use the policy to avoid millions in licensing fees from news organizations by requiring
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Meta removed the word "train" from its commercial terms of service after legal experts warned the original language could allow the company to scrape websites and use that content for AI development without paying licensing fees. The updated terms still use broad language like "develop" and "business products" that experts say could still permit the same scraping activities, since those terms are not legally defined and could encompass AI training. News organizations globally have protested the policy, with regulators in multiple countries asked to intervene before the new terms take effect. Meta's refusal to add language committing to respect robots.txt files, which are voluntary scraping-blocking instructions, means content owners have no legally enforceable way to prevent the company from using their data.
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