Meta says it may again delay its new business terms past Nov. 20

Meta may delay its new business terms for a second time, after publishers raised alarms that the terms would let the company train its AI models on news content shared through Facebook and Instagram. Andy Stone, Meta’s communications head, said on X that the company does not plan to make policy changes “without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders.”

The terms were first scheduled to take effect on October 30. Legal experts told Nieman Lab the language appeared to give Meta room to train its AI systems on material from news sites that use its platforms. Meta later edited the policy to remove wording that referenced “training,” but the same legal experts said the revision still did not rule out that Meta’s AI could scrape content from those sites. That concern pushed Meta to delay enforcement once already, to November 20.

Now Stone says the consultation process could run past that new date. “We’ve heard publishers’ feedback on our proposed ads and business terms update,” he said. “We’re committed to getting this right, and as we expect this consultation could extend beyond November 20, in which case we’d delay implementation of the updated terms. Until then our existing terms remain in place.”

Pressure from both the industry and Congress

The News/Media Alliance, a trade group representing publishers, has pushed back on the terms. Lawmakers from both parties have joined in. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said the updated terms show Meta is “attempting to exploit American creators and businesses.” Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, called on Meta to reverse the change outright.

The dispute centers on how much access Meta’s AI systems get to news content distributed through its apps, and whether publishers have any real way to opt out. Nieman Lab’s legal sourcing suggests the ambiguity has not been resolved even after Meta’s wording change, which is part of why the delay is happening a second time rather than being treated as settled.

Meta has not said when a new deadline might be set, or what the consultation with industry groups will specifically cover. Stone’s statement leaves the current terms in place until any new policy is finalized, but does not commit to a timeline beyond November 20.

What to watch next is whether Meta sets a concrete new date once the consultation period is further along, and whether any revised terms include language that publishers and legal experts consider sufficient to rule out AI training on their content. The News/Media Alliance and lawmakers like Blackburn and Schiff are likely to keep pressing Meta publicly in the meantime.