The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into Meta’s commercial terms for businesses. It will examine whether Meta is abusing a dominant position by imposing exploitative terms on publishers and advertisers. The terms could let Meta use their content, including for its AI features.
The CMA announced the case on Friday under the Competition Act 1998. It said the terms could let Meta collect content from the websites of businesses and publishers that use its services. Meta could then use that content to build its own products, without those businesses getting a choice on whether or how it is used.
“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, the CMA’s chief executive.
The watchdog said the terms could amount to an unlawful imposition of unfair trading conditions on thousands of UK businesses. It acted on concerns from groups including the News Media Association and the Movement for an Open Web.
Terms on hold
Meta first planned to bring in the new terms on 30 October. It then pushed them back to 20 November, after talks with the CMA. On 28 October, it paused the rollout until it has consulted industry groups, the CMA said.
The investigation will first decide whether Meta holds a dominant position in a relevant UK market. If it does, the CMA will then assess whether the terms abuse that position. No decision has been made on whether Meta broke the law, the regulator said.
Meta said there were “no grounds” for an investigation, Sam Tabahriti reported for Reuters.
“We’ve already committed not to change our terms without consulting publishers and other stakeholders. We welcome the opportunity to explain our approach to the CMA,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Publishers push back across Europe
European publishers had asked EU and UK regulators to stop Meta’s AI terms before they took effect. In Norway, a court earlier in the week temporarily banned Meta from enforcing the new terms after 10 media outlets argued they threatened their rights to their content, Agence France-Presse reported. In France, Meta lost an appeal over orders to negotiate with news publishers.
Separately, the CMA is asking Meta for information about Meta One, its business subscription service. The Federation of Small Businesses has raised concerns about small firms posting external links on Facebook and Instagram without paying for a subscription. The CMA has not decided whether to take formal action on that, and it sits outside the new investigation.
Meta has not been designated with strategic market status under the UK’s new digital markets regime, which gives the CMA wider powers. The CMA board is due to consider its next proposals for that status in spring 2027.