Meta pushes updated ad terms to November 20 after publisher backlash
Meta moved the effective date of its revised Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms from October 30 to November 20, as complaints reached antitrust authorities.
Meta has pushed the effective date of its updated Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms from October 30 to November 20, according to Engadget. The change was announced on October 24, 2026.
The company said it will explain to partners how it uses its web crawlers and will make clear that content owners and publishers can use robots.txt to signal their preferences to crawlers and AI bots.
The News Media Alliance had sent Meta an open letter demanding it withdraw the revised terms before the original October 30 date. Entities potentially affected by the update have also submitted complaints to antitrust authorities about the terms.
Earlier language drew objections
Meta had previously shared a planned terms update saying it could use web scrapers and automated tools to access, index, cache, analyze, collect, retrieve and crawl the domains and web pages of business accounts. After publishers and other businesses raised concerns, Meta changed its language to remove the reference to AI training.
Quick answers
When do Meta's updated Commercial Terms take effect?
The effective date is now November 20, moved from the originally scheduled October 30.
What did Meta change in the terms?
Meta removed the reference to AI training from its earlier language and said it will explain how web crawlers are used and how robots.txt can be used to signal preferences.