Meta changes business terms so it can use your website content for AI

Meta has updated its terms for business accounts so it can use content from connected outside websites to develop AI products. The change was not announced. Samantha Cole of 404 Media reported it. Artists, independent creators and small business owners pushed back, and Meta delayed the start date from Oct. 30 to Nov. 20.

What changed

After the criticism, Meta reworded the terms. It removed the word "training" and narrowed the stated scope to advertising and business products. Critics, including digital media analysts and human rights advocates, say the new language still lets Meta collect and use data across its wider set of products and services.

Who can object

In the European Union and the United Kingdom, a privacy law called GDPR gives people rights to object to how their personal data is used, sometimes including for AI development. Users with eligible European accounts can file an objection through Instagram's privacy center. Meta usually confirms with an automated email.

Users elsewhere do not have the same process. In VPN tests, access to the forms depended on account registration details, not physical location. U.S. users who tried the European forms got error messages.

What is not known

The reporting does not say exactly which website content is covered. It also does not say whether Meta will offer opt-out controls worldwide before Nov. 20. Until then, business owners outside Europe have limited options.