UK regulator probes Meta over feeding news content to its AI
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into social media giant Meta over concerns that its terms and conditions unfairly harm news publishers and other content businesses.
In a statement on Friday (30 October), the CMA said it will examine whether Meta is abusing a dominant position by imposing exploitative terms on publishers and advertisers.
The terms, which Meta planned to revise on 20 November but has since put on hold, could allow it to collect content from the websites of businesses and publishers that use its services and then use it to develop and provide its own products and services, including its AI features – without those businesses getting a choice on if or how their content is used.
The CMA said it is concerned that Meta requiring news publishers and other content businesses to accept these terms could amount to an unlawful imposition of unfair trading conditions for thousands of UK businesses that rely on its services to reach customers and audiences.
The investigation will assess whether Meta holds a dominant position in a relevant market in the UK and, if so, whether its terms amount to an abuse of that position under the CA98.
Meta had originally planned to introduce changes to its commercial terms on 30 October but, following active engagement with the CMA, announced that implementation would be delayed until 20 November. Meta has since announced, on 28 October, a pause to the roll out of its commercial terms, pending a consultation with industry groups.
“Digital platforms play an important role in helping UK businesses reach millions of customers around the world. But where a company holds a dominant position, it must not use that position to impose unfair terms,” said Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA.
“We’ve heard concerns from news publishers and other businesses and are acting swiftly to investigate whether Meta’s proposed changes may breach competition law, using the most appropriate powers available to us to examine these issues in detail. We will be working to reach a swift and satisfactory resolution to this case.”
As this is only the start of the CMA’s investigation, no decision has yet been made on whether Meta has broken the law. The CMA said it will now gather and assess evidence, including from Meta and affected third parties.
