Meta, Mark Zuckerberg’s company, is now following the same path as Google — using publishers’ work to train its AI models without paying them their due. News publishers are seriously worried about the social media giant’s latest commercial terms. The new terms, which take effect Oct. 30, 2026, allow the company to use automated tools like web scrapers, bots, and crawlers to access, collect and analyse content from websites that pertain to businesses and their use of Meta’s platforms.

The terms also state that Meta can use content from those sites to train, develop and improve its products and artificial intelligence features.

This is where the concern starts. All major news organisations have a business presence on Facebook, Instagram and other Meta platforms. These accounts help publishers manage their pages, share stories and reach readers.

“Nieman Lab first spotted the update and spoke to legal experts who warned that Meta’s new terms could allow it to use news sites’ content to train its AI models, and possibly compete with publishers themselves. This is clearly a permission for Meta to train AI on any content from their sites and perhaps use some of that content, even in competition with the publishers themselves, for news publishers,” James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and information law at Cornell Law School, told Nieman Lab.

Big Tech Needs Content, But Who Pays for It?

This information can be used by AI companies to build tools that can answer questions and provide summaries for millions of people. But what about the publishers who did the work in the first place? Will they be expected to keep producing news while Big Tech uses that information to make their AI products better and for free?

This is the issue with the current AI race.

News content is valuable because it contains reporting, analysis, interviews and information about what is happening around the world, and Big Tech wants more data to train their AI models.

But in terms of paying for that work, publishers are still seeking answers.

Google has already transformed news discovery through AI-powered search capabilities that surface answers and summaries directly on the search page.

Sam Altman’s OpenAI has also been criticised and faced legal challenges over the use of copyrighted material to train AI models, with news publishers worried their work is being used.

Meta’s new commercial terms have now shifted the focus of the debate.

Newsrooms Can’t Afford To Work For Free

There’s another side to this story that must be told. Publishers already use platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram to reach readers. News websites benefit from traffic from these platforms, which can be monetised through advertising and subscriptions.

But if the AI tools can simply provide answers to users, it could mean fewer people want to visit the original website.

This puts news organisations in a quandary. Their work could help AI companies provide better answers. But publishers might not get the same traffic or revenue they once did from people visiting their websites.

Imagine a reader who wants to know what happened at the launch of a big phone. A journalist attends the event, interviews company executives, checks facts and writes a report. An AI tool can then provide a short answer based on data collected from websites.

The reader can get what they need without going to the publisher’s website, and the newsroom may lose an opportunity to make money off that visit.

Now imagine that happening every day, across thousands of stories. That could hit publishers hard, especially smaller newsrooms that don’t have the deep pockets of big media companies.

And if publishers can’t afford to pay journalists, there may be fewer people available to report original stories. Artificial intelligence is able to summarise existing information, but original reporting still needs people, resources and time.

An AI tool can only provide a summary of a story that someone has researched.

Meta Has To Answer The Bigger Question

With the updated terms of Meta, the issue is even more important because it includes business accounts that are for several purposes, including the management of pages, running advertisements and using Meta Business Suite.

The terms allow automated software to gather content from websites and URLs related to products and services, and from content made available via use of Meta’s platforms.

And publishers need clear answers. “They should know when their content is being collected, how it’ll be used and if they can refuse permission.” They must also have a fair opportunity to negotiate payment when their original reporting is used to build commercial AI products.