On 22 October 2026, digital advertisers and publishers asked the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission to suspend Meta's new commercial terms, which were due to take effect on 30 October, Reuters reported.
What happened
The complaint came from the Movement for an Open Web, an advocacy group whose members include digital advertisers and publishers. It argued that the new terms would give Meta a broad right to use businesses' web content for its AI services, and asked regulators for interim measures.
According to Reuters:
- The complainants' view: many businesses have little choice but to use Meta's services, and the terms would force them to give up rights to their content without a way to opt out.
- Meta's response: the crawling terms only apply to its ads and business products, do not change how Meta uses web crawlers, and content owners can still use `robots.txt` to signal their preferences.
- The CMA's response: it met Meta to get more details, said it recognised the concerns raised by UK businesses and was in «urgent discussions» with Meta while it considered next steps.
- The European Commission said it would assess the complaint under its usual procedure.
Similar concerns had already been raised by the European Publishers Council and German publishing associations in the days before.
Why it matters for UK brands
This is part of a wider question that affects every business with a website: who can use your content to train or power AI tools, and on what terms.
| Question | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Can you stop AI crawlers from reading your site? | Partly, through `robots.txt` rules for each crawler |
| Does blocking crawlers protect you? | It can reduce use of your content, but may also reduce your visibility in AI answers |
| Will regulators act? | The CMA was in discussions with Meta at the time of the report; no outcome had been announced |
What to do now
- Review your `robots.txt`. Know which AI crawlers you allow and why. Blocking everything can remove you from the answers your buyers read; allowing everything gives away more than you may want.
- Separate premium from public content. Many publishers protect paid content and open free content to AI tools that cite sources.
- Track how AI tools describe you. Our AI sources test shows which sources appear when people ask about your category.
- Strengthen your presence in trusted sources. Coverage in respected publications remains one of the clearest ways to be cited. See how we combine SEO, digital PR and GEO.
We will follow the CMA's next steps. For a broader view of how AI search is changing visibility, read our guide to GEO.
This article was written with artificial intelligence and checked by a second AI before publication. Backlinks Global editorial team.