--- title: "Publishers Angry at Meta's New Terms Say They Still Can't Quit" description: "Meta has paused its new business terms, but publishers told Digiday they can't leave Facebook or Instagram, and trade groups say Meta hasn't called them yet." url: https://publishmyblog.com/marketing/publishers-cant-quit-meta/ section: "Marketing" author: "Saeed Shahriar" published: 2026-11-04T14:06:09.515Z --- # Publishers Angry at Meta's New Terms Say They Still Can't Quit The crawling clause is on hold, and the real fight is over who needs whom more. Meta has put its new commercial terms on hold. But the publishers fighting them told Digiday, in a report out November 3, that **they can't walk away from Facebook and Instagram**. Several trade groups also said they hadn't heard from Meta yet about the consultation it promised. Got a Facebook or Instagram page for your business? Then **this is your fight too**, whether you run a shop, a SaaS product or a blog. ## Where the terms stand Meta started telling business users about new terms in October. [Social Media Today reports](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-delays-commercial-terms-update-indefinitely/873528/) that **the wording could let Meta scrape your website** if your business is on Facebook or Instagram. Meta says it's not about scraping, only ad targeting. Still, legal experts raised the alarm, and regulators followed with questions of their own about the specific details of what the new wording would allow. Since then: - Meta moved the start date to November 20 - Per Reuters, Meta then said the rollout could slip indefinitely - Social Media Today says the UK's Competition and Markets Authority has opened an investigation - The European Publishers Council is weighing its next steps Meanwhile, **the copy of the terms Meta published for you to review still says November 20**. I'd treat that date as live until Meta tells you otherwise. ## Why publishers won't leave Facebook barely sends publishers traffic now, and the numbers Digiday pulled together show just how small the share coming from Meta has become. Here are the two data sets [Digiday](https://digiday.com/media/they-hold-us-hostage-publishers-furious-over-terms-change-still-cant-quit-facebook/) cites: - Facebook traffic to the top 10 publisher sites, including The New York Times, BBC and CNN, fell 5% year over year, per Similarweb data shared with Digiday - Meta's platforms sent about 3.5% of global publisher traffic in July 2026, according to Chartbeat data across more than 2,500 domains That's tiny. So why can't they quit? One head of audience said **Meta's share of its traffic fell from over a fifth to almost nothing**. Instagram is different, they said, because it still matters for brand awareness, community engagement and marketing rather than for referral traffic. That same head of audience on the new terms: "They hold us hostage." Strong words. Three heads of audience said Meta still feeds their **branded content, paid media, reach and community work**. ## What the publishers want Eilidh Wilson, who runs policy at the UK trade body PPA, went further. A publisher may get little traffic from Meta and **still rely on it for a big share of new subscriptions**, she said. That's why the PPA wants a UK market power investigation into Meta, like the one Google Search faced. Wilson also wants the terms split, so a publisher could: - allow link previews or advertising - **block AI training** and product development - rely on robots.txt written into binding terms, not public assurances Sensible. That's the version I'd want for my own sites, and the one you should ask for if your business is on Facebook or Instagram. ## Why it matters You don't need a newsroom of your own for this to reach you. **The clause covers businesses on Meta's platforms**, and that includes yours. What should you do before November 20? Here's where I'd start: - Read the draft terms Meta published, the crawling part first - Look past your referral clicks in GA4 and count the sign-ups, subscriptions and sales that start on Instagram or Facebook - Ask yourself what you'd lose if you left, then decide if the terms are worth it Then you'll know your room. ## The case to watch My read: **publishers are stuck in the same bind they're in with Google**. They've threatened [to block Google's crawlers](https://publishmyblog.com/seo/google-will-back-one-robots-txt-rule-for-ai/) over AI and mostly haven't. Why? You know the answer: they still need the visits. I'd expect the same here: it was regulators asking questions, not publishers walking out, that made Meta delay the start and then say it could slip indefinitely. **The CMA case is the one you should watch.** A regulator can force a change in the wording, on a timetable, whether or not a single publisher ever leaves Facebook or Instagram over it. Care how AI firms use your pages? The [New York Times lawsuit against Brave](https://publishmyblog.com/ai/new-york-times-sues-brave/) shows another route. Courts work too, if you can afford them. ## Common Questions **Are Meta's new commercial terms in effect for businesses on Facebook and Instagram?** Not yet. Meta delayed the update and said it could hold it indefinitely while it consults industry groups, though the copy of the terms it published still shows a November 20 start date. **What is the problem with Meta's new terms for website owners?** Critics say the new wording could let Meta crawl the website of any business with a Facebook or Instagram presence. Meta says the data is for ad targeting, but publishers fear it will feed AI products. **Is the UK investigating Meta's commercial terms?** Yes. Social Media Today reports that the UK Competition and Markets Authority has opened an investigation into the terms Meta sets for businesses. ## Sources - [Meta delays commercial terms update indefinitely](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-delays-commercial-terms-update-indefinitely/873528/), Social Media Today - [‘They hold us hostage’: Publishers furious over terms change still can’t quit Facebook](https://digiday.com/media/they-hold-us-hostage-publishers-furious-over-terms-change-still-cant-quit-facebook/), Digiday