Meta has delayed its updated commercial terms until November 20, 2026. The update was originally set to take effect on October 30, 2026. The company announced the delay on October 23, 2026. The decision followed concerns raised by publishers and digital advertisers about the update. The delay applies to the effective date: Meta said it would take additional time to consider the objections. The new date replaces the old one — November 20 instead of October 30.

The Delay Decision

Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts told The Verge that the update will take effect on November 20. He said the extra time will let partners and stakeholders explain what is changing and what is not. That explanation includes the fact that Meta is not changing how it uses web crawlers. Content owners will keep the ability to signal their preferences through robots.txt.

The Senator's Objection

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn raised concerns about the update. She said the update shows Meta attempting to exploit American creators and businesses. In her view, the update gives Meta broad authority to collect content from sites linked to Facebook and Instagram business accounts. The scope of that authority is at the center of her objection.

Meta is trying to exploit American creators and businesses — Senator Marsha Blackburn, via Reuters.

Blackburn noted that a direct reference to AI training had been removed from an earlier draft, but she said that change was not enough. The new text confirms large-scale collection and allows Meta to develop its own business products from the collected content. In her view, without clearly defined limits on content use, creators' intellectual property protection is not guaranteed.

Publishers and Regulators

Competition authorities in the European Union and the United Kingdom received complaints about the new commercial terms. In the complaints, publishers and digital advertisers said the update would give Meta unlimited rights to use their content for AI services. The complaints went to the competition authorities of both jurisdictions, from two groups of complainants: publishers and digital advertisers. Meta rejected those claims.

Meta's Comment

Meta said the updated terms apply only to advertising and business products. The company said it is not changing how it uses web crawlers. Content owners will continue to be able to signal their preferences through robots.txt. Meta's comment thus covers three points: the scope of the terms, the unchanged approach to crawlers, and the preservation of the robots.txt option.

Earlier Stages of the Story

Earlier stages in the site's archive: Meta May Get Permission to Scan Content to Train Its AI and Publishers Complained About Meta to European and British Regulators. Primary sources: Reuters report and The Verge report.