Meta Platforms Inc. has paused the implementation of its updated business and advertising terms, originally scheduled for November 20, 2026, following ongoing stakeholder engagement and increasing global regulatory scrutiny.
The decision means existing terms and conditions will remain in force, allowing the social media giant to continue crawling advertiser websites for purposes such as research and training when an ad order is placed.
The proposed changes, which included updated Commercial Terms, Product Catalog Terms, Self-Serve Ad Terms, and Ad Creative Generative AI Terms, will not be enacted on the previously announced date, according to Nieman Lab and Adweek reports.
Among the paused Commercial Terms was a new paragraph that would have extended Meta’s crawling capabilities to sites associated with a business’s products or services, a provision not present in the current terms dated March 6, 2024.
Additionally, the halted terms featured a new section on “AI Features” that would have shifted sole responsibility for results and changes produced by Meta’s artificial intelligence tools to advertisers. Under the current Ad Creative Generative AI Terms, this responsibility remains tied to the advertiser’s own actions.
The pause comes as Meta faces legal challenges and investigations concerning its data practices. Courts in Brazil and Norway have issued preliminary injunctions against these terms, responding to complaints filed by various press organizations.
In the United Kingdom, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is actively investigating both Meta’s current and proposed business and ad terms, examining their potential impact on competition and consumer protection.
Meta did not immediately provide a new timeline for the potential implementation of any revised terms, indicating a period of further review and consultation.
Source: Search Engine Journal
