Meta's commercial terms face UK antitrust investigation over AI content use dispute

Odaily reports: Meta Platforms (META.O) is facing an investigation by UK regulators, who are concerned that the company's commercial terms may impose "exploitative" conditions on publishers and advertisers.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday that it will investigate whether Meta is using its commercial terms to abuse its market dominance, thereby "unfairly harming" the interests of businesses using its platform.

The CMA said Meta had originally planned to revise the relevant terms starting November 20, but has now paused their implementation. Under these terms, Meta may be able to collect content from publishers' websites without obtaining their consent. Meta could then use this content to develop and offer its own products and services, including AI features. In response to the investigation, Meta said: "There is no reason to launch a competition investigation. We have committed not to modify the relevant terms before consulting with publishers and other stakeholders."