- According to the report, Meta removed language from its commercial terms page stating that it could use content from websites and URLs for product development and AI training. The language was read as potentially applying to many sites, including news sites.
- Nieman Lab and Cornell University professor James Grimmelmann and others said the language could be read as granting a right to use content for free beyond robots.txt blocking instructions. robots.txt is a configuration file that websites use to block or allow access by search robots.
- Meta VP Andy Stone and spokesperson Daniel Roberts said the way its web crawlers are used has not changed, and that the crawling terms apply only to advertising and business products. This is Meta's claim.
- Roberts said content owners can indicate their preferences through robots.txt, and that this update does not give any new rights beyond those preferences. The report does not include independent verification of how this explanation applies in practice.
O: A news editor worried that their site's articles might be used to train Meta AI may find it useful to review the robots.txt blocking settings and the public terms together.
X: The explanations from a Meta vice president and spokesperson are Meta's own claims, so it must first be noted that the actual scope and effect of collection cannot be confirmed from the source alone.