Digital publishers and advertising companies have called on competition regulators in the European Union and the United Kingdom to suspend Meta Platforms’ new commercial terms,
warning that the changes could give the technology giant broad access to online content for its artificial intelligence services.
The new conditions are scheduled to take effect on October 30. The industry groups argue that the terms could force businesses relying on Meta’s platforms to surrender rights over their digital material without providing a meaningful way to refuse.
The Movement for an Open Web, an advocacy organisation representing digital advertisers and publishers, said on Thursday that it had filed complaints with the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The group also requested interim measures to prevent the terms from taking effect while regulators investigate the allegations.
Tim Cowen, co-founder of the Movement for an Open Web, described the proposed conditions as anti-competitive, arguing that many businesses depend heavily on Meta’s services and have limited alternatives.
He warned that the arrangements could leave companies with little choice but to accept terms granting Meta extensive access to their online content. According to Cowen, the company could potentially use material collected from websites to develop AI-powered products that compete directly with the publishers and businesses supplying that content.
Meta rejected the allegations, disputing the claim that its revised terms would expand its ability to collect material from websites.
A company spokesperson said the consolidated crawling provisions applied exclusively to Meta’s advertising and business products, adding that the wording had been clarified to make their scope explicit. The spokesperson also said the changes did not alter the company’s existing web-crawling practices.
Meta maintained that website operators could continue using the robots.txt protocol to communicate restrictions on automated access to their content. The company also rejected the suggestion that the revisions specifically targeted news websites or overrode publishers’ existing preferences.
The dispute comes as publishers worldwide intensify their efforts to challenge the use of copyrighted material by AI developers. Media organisations have increasingly questioned whether technology companies can use articles, photographs and other online content to train or operate AI systems without obtaining permission or agreeing to compensation.
The conflict has become a major point of tension between traditional content producers and technology platforms, with publishers arguing that their work has substantial commercial value and should not be incorporated into competing services without appropriate safeguards.
In the United Kingdom, the CMA confirmed that it had met with Meta on Wednesday to seek further information about the revised commercial terms.
A CMA spokesperson said the regulator recognised the concerns raised by British businesses and was holding urgent discussions with the company while considering its next steps.
The European Commission had not immediately responded to requests for comment.
The request for interim measures places the dispute under additional regulatory scrutiny. Companies seeking such intervention generally must demonstrate that the alleged anti-competitive conduct could cause serious and irreparable harm before a full investigation can be completed.
The Movement for an Open Web’s complaint follows a growing wave of opposition from European media organisations. The European Publishers Council raised similar concerns the previous week, while Germany’s Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers Association (BDZV) and the Association of the Free Press (MVFP) voiced objections earlier this week.
With the October 30 implementation date approaching, the dispute could intensify pressure on European and British regulators to determine whether Meta’s revised terms constitute legitimate rules governing its commercial services or risk unfairly strengthening its position in the expanding AI market. Photo by Nokia621, Wikimedia commons.
