Meta has removed wording from its commercial terms that had been interpreted as allowing the company to use content from websites, pages and URLs submitted through its business tools to develop and train its products, including AI systems. The update follows criticism from legal and media observers who said the language appeared broad enough to cover news and other website content.

What happened

According to reporting by The Verge, Meta deleted language from its commercial terms page that said the company may use any content from such domains, web pages, or URLs to provide, develop, improve, research, train and maintain Meta products and services.

The wording drew backlash because it appeared to give Meta wide latitude over content associated with domains or URLs shared through its commercial products. Commentators cited in the report interpreted the clause as potentially covering website and news content for AI-related purposes. Meta has now removed that language from the relevant page.

Based on the source provided, this is a change in Meta’s published terms language. It does not by itself establish what Meta previously did in practice with website content, nor does it resolve broader legal questions around platform access, scraping or AI training rights.

Why it matters for European businesses

For European companies, the episode is a reminder that platform terms can create significant data governance and content licensing risks, even when the change appears in a business or technical policy rather than a headline product announcement.

Many businesses connect websites, product catalogues, landing pages and marketing assets to large platforms for advertising, analytics, commerce or social integrations. If contractual language around submitted URLs or domain-linked content is broad, companies may face uncertainty over:

• how their website content could be reused by a platform;
• whether business data or published materials may contribute to AI system improvement;
• how that affects intellectual property, publisher rights and commercial content strategy;
• whether internal legal, procurement and compliance teams need to review platform terms more closely.

This is particularly relevant in Europe, where businesses are already balancing AI adoption with GDPR obligations, copyright concerns, publisher licensing issues and growing scrutiny of how large platforms collect and reuse data.

Who may be affected

The development is most relevant for organisations that publish valuable original content or connect website assets to major digital platforms.

• Publishers and media businesses: They face the clearest exposure where platform terms could affect how articles or other editorial content are accessed or reused.
• E-commerce companies: Product pages, descriptions, images and landing pages often flow through ad and commerce integrations.
• Marketing teams and agencies: Campaign URLs, microsites and client domains are regularly submitted to advertising and tracking systems.
• SMEs and founders: Smaller businesses often accept platform terms without legal review, despite relying heavily on third-party ecosystems.
• IT, procurement and compliance teams: These teams may need to assess whether commercial terms align with internal content, IP and data policies.

What companies should consider

• Review platform terms regularly: Check commercial terms, developer terms, ad terms and AI-related policies for wording about submitted URLs, uploaded assets and content reuse.
• Map where website content is shared: Identify which platforms receive your domains, feeds, catalogues, documents or page URLs through integrations or business tools.
• Assess content sensitivity: Separate public marketing content from higher-value or restricted materials, and limit unnecessary sharing where possible.
• Involve legal and procurement teams: Contract review should not be limited to pricing and service levels; AI use, training rights and content licence clauses also matter.
• Monitor policy changes by major vendors: Terms can change quickly after public criticism, which means businesses should not assume today’s wording matches prior versions.
• Document third-party data governance: Maintain an internal record of which providers can access website content and under what contractual basis.

For European businesses, the practical lesson is broader than Meta alone: as AI features become embedded across advertising, analytics and business platforms, terms governing content access and reuse deserve the same attention as privacy settings and security controls.