AAP tells Meta to scrap scraping terms as Norway blocks them
Oslo's court granted a temporary injunction halting Meta's terms until it rules on their legality, while AAP calls them an "appalling landgrab"
The Association of American Publishers on Wednesday called on Meta to drop new commercial terms that would let the company scrape the websites of any business using its platforms, calling them "an appalling landgrab of unprecedented proportion that must not be tolerated," according to AAP president and CEO Maria A. Pallante. The terms, first reported by Neiman Lab on October 15, would let Meta use web scrapers, bots, and crawlers to access and collect data from websites tied to business accounts on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads; opting out means giving up those platforms for business.
The same day, the Oslo District Court in Norway granted a temporary injunction barring Meta from enforcing the terms until a final ruling on their legality, in a case brought by the Norwegian Media Businesses' Association on behalf of 10 media companies including NRK and Schibsted. MBL board chair Lene Eltvik Vindfeld said the court agreed Meta holds a dominant position in the relevant market and that the new terms are unreasonable.
Meta's terms were set to take effect October 30 but were delayed to November 20 after complaints to EU and UK regulators. Meta VP of communications Andy Stone said the company would not make changes "without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders," and would delay again if needed. Senator Marsha Blackburn called that promise "a vague promise," and Angela Mills Wade of the European Publishers Council said any consultation "must lead to binding contractual safeguards." Meta has already revised the terms once, removing the word "train" on October 16.
Here's the thing worth sitting with: Meta wrote terms that let it scrape any business page connected to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Threads, full stop, opt out and you lose the platform for business. AAP's Maria Pallante says that's Meta quietly admitting it needs permission to use creative work in the first place while turning around and forcing that permission out of everyone who wants to use its apps. A Norwegian court just ruled separately that Meta holds a dominant market position and that the new terms are unreasonable, enough to freeze them until a final decision. Two different arguments, same target, same week, and Meta still hasn't committed to anything beyond a promise to "consult."
From the Coral Wire edition of Fri, Oct 30 2026 · Coral Index 15/100 (Storm warning)