UK CMA opens competition probe into Meta terms that could let it scrape publishers’ sites for AI

Why it matters

On 2026-10-30 the UK Competition and Markets Authority opened a Competition Act 1998 Chapter II investigation into Meta (Meta Platforms, Facebook UK, Facebook Ireland) over whether its revised business terms—allowing Meta to collect content from publishers’ and businesses’ own websites and use it to develop its products, including AI features, without a choice for those businesses—amount to abuse of a dominant position via unfair trading conditions. The terms were due on Oct 30, delayed to Nov 20 after CMA engagement, then paused by Meta on Oct 28 pending industry consultation; the CMA acted on complaints from the News Media Association and Movement for an Open Web. Rapid information gathering runs Oct 2026–Jan 2027; no finding of infringement has been made; interim measures are possible. The CMA is separately seeking information on Meta One link-posting subscriptions. Meta is not designated with SMS under the UK digital markets regime.