Legal experts warn Meta's new terms still grant broad scraping permissions
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Meta's revised terms still allow broad scraping of websites linked to business accounts, legal experts warn.
Meta removed the word "train" from its updated commercial terms after backlash, but legal experts say the revision still permits broad scraping of domains "associated with" business accounts. The new terms authorize scraping to "develop, improve, research, and maintain advertising and business products," which experts argue is broad enough to include AI training. Meta claims robots.txt preferences are respected but did not include that language in the binding contract. The terms take effect October 30 with no opt-out. Three major journalism organizations have publicly opposed the changes, with the News/Media Alliance calling them "outrageous and probably illegal."
What commenters are saying
Commenters largely agree that robots.txt is not an enforceable block; one experienced scraper notes they have never been asked to respect it. Several suggest technical countermeasures like silently closing connections or feeding false data, though one commenter doubts poisoning AI is effective. A detailed top-level comment summarizes the legal danger: Meta can create test credentials to bypass paywalls, scrape entire domains, and use content to "develop" AI products. Some express confusion about the backlash, noting Meta already scrapes regularly.
The thread also includes practical advice: match on ASN plus TLS JA4 fingerprint to block scrapers, and use browser extensions to scrape one's own Facebook feed.