Meta’s revised Commercial Terms are scheduled to take effect on October 30, 2026. The preview authorizes automated access to websites associated with a business user’s products or services, but its displayed crawling clause does not use the word “train.” Meta’s Commercial Terms preview
What the revised terms cover
The crawling clause covers associated domains, pages, URLs and content. It lists automated access, indexing, caching, analysis, collection, retrieval and crawling, along with periodic updates. Its stated purposes are to provide, develop, improve, research and maintain advertising and business products, and to protect the integrity and security of Meta products.
The terms apply to business or commercial use of Meta products, including advertising, selling or listing products, managing a Page, and using tools such as Ads Manager and Meta Business Suite. Meta’s announcement says the revision folds Product Catalog Terms into the Commercial Terms and moves Ad Creative Generative AI Terms into the Self-Serve Ad Terms. Meta’s announcement
Why reports raise the AI-training question
The displayed crawling clause does not say “train.” But reports published by Ars Technica and Nieman Journalism Lab reproduce wording that includes it. James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and information law at Cornell Law School, interpreted that reported wording as permission to train AI on publisher websites. That is his reading of the terms, not a court ruling.
Meta told Nieman Journalism Lab that website owners can manage access with robots.txt. The company also told Ars Technica that its crawler practices would not change. Under the preview’s terms, a business that does not agree may stop all access to or use of Meta products for business or commercial purposes.
