Meta has paused its new ad terms. Here is what that means for your business
Meta's updated ad terms would have let it crawl the websites linked to your business. After court orders in Norway and Brazil and a UK investigation, Meta paused them on 5 November. Your current terms stay in place.
If you advertise on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen a notice in October about new terms. Among other things, they would have let Meta crawl the websites linked to your business. On 5 November Meta paused them, and the terms you already accepted stay in place.
What the new terms said
Meta published updated Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms in mid-October 2026. Nieman Lab reported on 15 October that they allowed Meta to use automated software, such as crawlers and bots, to collect content from domains linked to a business, and to use that content to provide, develop, improve and research its products. The first draft also mentioned training. That word was removed a few days later and the purpose narrowed to advertising and business products, PPC Land reported on 23 October.
The terms covered every business that uses Meta's tools, including shops, clinics, restaurants and agencies. Carrying on advertising would have counted as accepting them.
How it went from a deadline to a pause
- The terms were due to start on 30 October. On 23 October Meta told Reuters it was moving the date to 20 November.
- A court in Oslo temporarily blocked the terms on 28 October. On 3 November a court in São Paulo suspended the crawling clause for members of three Brazilian media associations.
- The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation on 30 October, and the European Commission is assessing a complaint from publishers.
- On 5 November Meta posted a notice in its Business Help Center saying the updates are paused and will not take effect on 20 November. A spokesperson told Reuters the company wants to take its time to get this right.
Four sets of terms are on hold: the Commercial Terms, Product Catalog Terms, Self-Serve Ad Terms and the Ad Creative Generative AI Terms. Meta has not given a new date and says it will share an update when it has more to say.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes in your account today. The terms in force since March 2024 still apply to your ads.
- Expect a new version at some point. When it arrives, read the parts about crawling your website and using your content for AI before you click accept.
- If you want to set rules for bots now, your website's robots.txt file is the place. Meta pointed content owners to it in October.
- Keep a list of the pages your ads link to, such as product, landing and booking pages. Those are the pages the crawling clause would have reached.
Meta's notice does not single out any country, so the pause applies to advertisers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well.
Not sure what your website allows bots to do, or what your ad account has agreed to? ALXO can check your setup and keep your campaigns running. Get in touch.
