GoKawiilMeta removes 'train' from updated commercial terms after scraping backlash
Meta edited the wording of its new commercial terms of service, set to take effect October 30, removing the word 'train' after legal experts warned the policy could let Meta scrape data from websites linked on business pages for AI training. A Meta spokesperson said the crawling terms only apply to ads and business products, don't change how Meta's web crawlers operate, and that robots.txt preferences still apply. The company did not notify users of the wording change.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The quiet edit, rather than a substantive policy rollback, suggests Meta may be managing public perception more than changing its actual data practices. Legal experts like Matt Topic maintain that publishers and business page owners should remain wary, indicating the underlying scraping concerns may persist despite the cosmetic language change.
- Meta removed the word 'train' from its commercial terms of service ahead of an October 30 rollout.
- Meta says the crawling terms apply only to ads and business products and don't alter its web crawler behavior.
- Legal experts say the revised terms don't resolve concerns about potential scraping of business-linked websites.
Source: arstechnica.com, 2026-10-20
Published there as: “Meta drops the word "train" from its commercial TOS after AI backlash”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.