Brief
Meta removes “train” from commercial terms after global AI backlash
The change follows protests by news groups and regulators who say the clause could force sites to allow AI training on their content.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Meta announced on Oct. 20 that it has removed the word “train” from its draft commercial Terms of Service after a wave of criticism over a clause that would let the company use scraped website content for AI training.
What happened
The company said the revision narrows language around AI training while keeping its broader crawling rights unchanged. The update comes ahead of the terms taking effect on Oct. 30.
What the reports add
Ars Technica noted that university law professor Benjamin Sobel suggested Meta could instead rely on legally enforceable TOS language to respect robots.txt instructions. The outlet also reported that the European Publishers Council has asked the European Commission to intervene, and that U.K. News Media Association chief Theo Bamber called the original clause a “shameless land grab.”
What was said
Angela Mills Wad, executive director of the European Publishers Council, said publishers must be able to decide how their journalism is used and negotiate fair payment. Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, called the terms “outrageous and probably illegal” and urged U.S. regulators to act before the Oct. 30 implementation.
Key facts
- Meta removed the word “train” from its draft commercial Terms of Service. (arstechnica.com)
- The change follows criticism from global news groups and regulators. (arstechnica.com)
- The revised terms are still set to take effect on Oct. 30. (arstechnica.com)
Sources
- [1] arstechnica.com — originally reported as “Meta drops the word "train" from its commercial TOS after AI backlash”
