An anticipated update to Meta's commercial terms of use has sparked controversy regarding the limits of technology companies' authority to access content published on websites, after it included a clause allowing the use of automated tools to collect content from websites linked to business accounts on its platforms, explicitly stating the possibility of using this content to train artificial intelligence systems and develop the company's products.
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A clause that raises concerns among media organizations
The issue began to take shape on October 15, when Nieman Lab, a website specializing in covering journalism and the future of media, published a report on Meta's new commercial terms scheduled to come into effect on October 30.
The most controversial aspect was the text that authorized the use of the content collected by the company to provide, develop, improve, research, and train Meta products, as well as to maintain their integrity.
the wording included media organizations that have business accounts on Facebook , Instagram and WhatsApp, raising concerns that its effects could extend to articles and reports published on those organizations’ websites, and not just the material they publish directly on social media platforms.
Legal experts consulted by Nimman Lab warned that the wording could give the company grounds to claim permission to use website content in training AI models. Matt Topke, a media and intellectual property lawyer at the Spanish firm Loewe & Loewe, said the clause raises questions about access to material that might otherwise cost significant sums if obtained through licensing agreements. However, the experts did not rule out the possibility that courts would consider this interpretation legally binding.
Why did Meta back down from the wording?
Meta removed the wording that raised concerns about content collection and AI training, following the publication of related reports and criticisms. The company had explained, before deleting the text, that the terms update consolidated provisions that were spread across different clauses, and that it did not reflect a change in the way web crawlers are used. Web crawlers are automated software programs that continuously and systematically scan the internet to visit, read, and collect data from websites.
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technology