Meta removes website terms that sparked scraping, AI training concerns

Meta has removed website terms that raised concerns about data scraping and AI training today, TechCrunch reports. The change lands amid intensifying scrutiny of how platforms ingest public web content for machine learning and what permissions publishers expect. It matters now because policy wording can shape whether crawlers honor norms and signal to regulators and site owners how data may be used.

A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch the update does not change how Meta crawls the web, describing it as a clarification rather than a shift in practice. The previously posted language had unsettled some developers and publishers who feared broader collection of publicly available data, according to TechCrunch. Attention will focus on any updated crawler documentation, publisher guidance, or regulatory reaction in the U.S. and Europe as clarity and enforcement take hold. [Developing. This article will be updated.]