Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has initiated a formal investigation into Meta's business agreements, focusing on whether the social media giant is leveraging market dominance to impose unfair conditions on publishers and advertisers. The inquiry will determine if Meta's terms unlawfully permit the company to extract content from business and publisher websites for use in its own products, including artificial intelligence systems, without granting those parties meaningful control over how their material is deployed.
The CMA announced the investigation on Friday under the Competition Act 1998, responding to grievances filed by industry groups including the News Media Association and the Movement for an Open Web. According to the regulator, the terms in question could constitute unlawful imposition of unfair trading conditions affecting thousands of UK enterprises.
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.
Sarah Cardell, CMA chief executive
Timeline of the rollout pause
Meta originally scheduled the new terms to launch on 30 October, then postponed the date to 20 November following discussions with the CMA. On 28 October, the company suspended the rollout entirely pending consultation with industry stakeholders, according to the regulator's statement.
The CMA's investigation will first establish whether Meta holds a dominant market position in the relevant UK sector. Should the regulator reach that conclusion, it will subsequently evaluate whether the terms represent an abuse of that dominance. The authority has emphasized that no determination regarding potential legal violations has yet been made.
Meta contested the investigation, asserting there were "no grounds" for regulatory intervention. A company representative stated: "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."
European publishers mount resistance
Across Europe, news publishers have mobilized against Meta's AI content terms. In Norway, a court issued a temporary injunction preventing Meta from enforcing the new terms after ten media outlets contended the agreement threatened their intellectual property rights. Meanwhile, Meta faced a setback in France when it lost an appeal against regulatory orders requiring the company to negotiate with news publishers.
Separate inquiry into Meta One
Independently of the main investigation, the CMA is gathering information about Meta One, the company's subscription service for businesses. The Federation of Small Businesses has flagged concerns that small enterprises face pressure to purchase subscriptions to share external links on Facebook and Instagram. The regulator has not yet determined whether to pursue formal action on this matter, which remains separate from the current inquiry.
Meta has not received designation as a strategically important business under the UK's digital markets regime, which would grant the CMA expanded investigatory powers. The CMA board is scheduled to review candidates for this status in spring 2027.
Source: The Next Web
