Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday it has opened an investigation into whether Meta’s commercial terms for businesses breach competition law, according to its announcement. Meta said there were “no grounds” for an investigation, Reuters reported.
The CMA said the terms, which Meta planned to revise on November 20 but has since put on hold, could allow Meta to collect content from the websites of businesses and publishers that use its services. Meta could then use it to develop and provide its own products and services, including its AI features, without those businesses getting a choice on if or how their content is used. The CMA said it is concerned that requiring news publishers and other content businesses to accept the terms could amount to an unlawful imposition of unfair trading conditions for thousands of UK businesses.
The investigation is under Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998. The CMA said it will assess whether Meta holds a dominant position in a relevant UK market and, if so, whether the terms amount to an abuse of that position. It said it is acting urgently on concerns from stakeholders including the News Media Association and Movement for an Open Web.
The CMA said this is the start of its investigation and no decision has been made on whether Meta has broken the law. Its case page names Meta Platforms, Inc., Facebook UK Limited and Facebook Ireland Limited, and gives an indicative timetable, which may change, of initial information gathering from October 2026 to January 2027.
“We’ve already committed not to change our terms without consulting publishers and other stakeholders,” a Meta spokesperson told Reuters. “We welcome the opportunity to explain our approach to the CMA.”
The CMA said Meta first planned to introduce the changes on October 30, delayed them to November 20 after engaging with the regulator, and announced on October 28 a pause to the rollout pending consultation with industry groups. Publishers had raised concerns that the terms could let Meta scrape news sites for AI training, according to earlier reporting on the delay. Bloomberg Law also reported the probe.
Separately, the CMA said it is seeking information from Meta on its Meta One business subscription service, after the Federation of Small Businesses raised concerns about posting external links on Facebook and Instagram without paying. The CMA said no decision has been taken on formal action there, and that the issue is outside this investigation.
Sources
- Competition and Markets Authority: CMA opens investigation into Meta’s commercial terms (press release, October 30, 2026)
- Competition and Markets Authority: Suspected abuse of a dominant position in relation to Meta’s commercial terms (case page, opened October 30, 2026)
- Reuters via CNA: UK’s CMA opens investigation into Meta’s terms for publishers and advertisers (October 30, 2026)
- Bloomberg Law: Meta Probed Over Alleged Harm Caused in Commercial Small Print (October 30, 2026; search excerpt)
- AI Tech Daily: Meta delays new business terms to Nov. 20 amid publisher pushback over AI scraping