South Africa's leading editors' body has raised concerns about new commercial terms from Meta, arguing they could allow the company to use local journalism in its artificial intelligence products without asking permission, crediting publishers or paying them.
The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) is the latest voice in a growing international dispute over the terms, which has already drawn legal action in Norway and Brazil, according to a report by The Citizen.
What Meta's Proposed Terms Would Allow
According to SANEF, the terms would permit Meta to crawl and collect material from websites connected to businesses that use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. That group includes most news organisations, which rely heavily on Meta's platforms to reach audiences.
Meta has pushed back the rollout to 20 November and has said it will consult with publishers. SANEF argues, however, that the revised wording still leaves room for news content to be used in building generative AI products.
SANEF's Core Objection
The forum's concern is that even a limited interpretation of the terms would let Meta's AI tools draw on journalism as it is published and shared on the company's platforms, then use it to produce answers for users without recognising or compensating the original publishers.
SANEF characterised the terms as a "warning shot" for South African newsrooms. In its view, they show how near a dominant platform has come to treating access to publishers' work as a condition of doing business with it.
Courts and Industry Groups Respond Abroad
The issue has prompted coordinated pushback beyond South Africa. The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has asked Meta to suspend the terms for news publishers and to negotiate a fair framework governing how journalism can be used.
Media organisations in Norway won a court order that temporarily blocks the policy. In Brazil, a court has prohibited Meta from collecting journalism to train AI systems without authorisation.
What South African Editors Are Asking For
SANEF has called on Meta to withdraw the crawling provision for South African publishers. It has also asked the Competition Commission to keep a close watch on how the terms are rolled out.
The forum renewed its call for the government to let publishers negotiate collectively with large technology and AI companies, rather than leaving individual outlets to bargain alone. It also said global principles on publisher consent, enforceable opt-outs and fair terms for using journalism are urgently needed.
Why the Dispute Matters for Media and Tech
The standoff reflects a broader tension between AI developers, who need large volumes of high-quality text, and news organisations, whose business models depend on being paid for the content they produce. When a platform is also a key distribution channel, publishers have limited leverage to refuse its terms.
For founders and companies building on AI, the cases in Norway and Brazil signal that regulators and courts are increasingly willing to step in on how training data is gathered. For publishers, the push for collective bargaining and clear opt-out rights suggests the rules governing journalism in the AI era are still being written, and the outcome of Meta's consultations ahead of its 20 November date will be closely watched.
Source: The Citizen
