European publishers ask Brussels and London to halt Meta's new AI terms

Major European publishers have written to the European Commission and filed a complaint with the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), asking them to halt Meta's new terms before they take effect on October 30, saying the terms would allow Meta to copy content from publishers' websites to build AI. The European Publishers Council, whose members include POLITICO's parent company Axel Springer, asked EU Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera and Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen to review the terms under EU copyright and competition law and requested an urgent meeting; CMA head Sarah Cardell said the CMA has asked Meta to explain the changes and will meet on Wednesday, and has also listed Meta as a possible subject of the UK's new rules for tech giants. According to prior reporting and analysis by Nieman Lab, the terms allow Meta to use automated programs to copy content from connected websites to train its products, with no opt-out option; continued use after October 30 is deemed consent.