The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into Meta on Friday, examining whether the company is imposing exploitative terms on publishers and advertisers that would let it use their content to build its own products and services, including AI features.
At issue are Meta's commercial terms for businesses. The CMA said the terms could allow Meta to access and use content from news publishers' websites to develop and provide its own products. The revised version would have let Meta use that collected content in its AI features without businesses getting a choice over how, or whether, their content is used.
Meta had planned to introduce the revised terms on November 20. The company has since put that change on hold.
Key facts
- 01The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into Meta's terms for publishers and advertisers on October 30, 2026.
- 02The terms could let Meta access and use content from news publishers' websites for its own products, including AI features.
- 03Meta had planned to revise the terms on November 20 and has put the change on hold.
- 04The CMA will test whether Meta holds a dominant UK market position and whether the terms breach the Competition Act 1998.
- 05A Norwegian court this week temporarily barred Meta from enforcing the new terms after a challenge by ten media outlets.
The CMA's case turns on two questions. First, whether Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, holds a dominant position in a relevant UK market. Second, if it does, whether the terms amount to an abuse of that position under the Competition Act 1998. The regulator warned that requiring publishers and content businesses to accept the terms could "amount to an unlawful imposition of unfair trading conditions for thousands of UK businesses."
“where a company holds a dominant position, it must not use that position to impose unfair terms.”— Sarah Cardell, Chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority
Sarah Cardell, the CMA's chief executive, said the regulator moved quickly after hearing concerns from news publishers and other businesses. She also acknowledged the role Meta's platforms play for UK companies, saying digital platforms help UK businesses reach millions of customers around the world.
Meta rejected the basis for the probe. "There are no grounds for a competition investigation," a Meta spokesperson said. The company added that it has "already committed not to change our terms without consulting publishers and other stakeholders," and said it welcomes the opportunity to explain its approach to the CMA.
The UK action follows a ruling in Norway this week, where a court temporarily barred Meta from enforcing the new terms. Ten media outlets had argued in that case that the terms would threaten their rights to their own content.
For Meta, the outcome will decide whether it can draw on UK publishers' website content for AI features under the terms as written. The stakes extend past newsrooms: thousands of UK businesses rely on Meta's platforms to reach customers, and the CMA's probe covers advertisers as well as publishers.
The CMA did not set a deadline. Cardell said the regulator will be "working to reach a swift and satisfactory resolution to this case."
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