Britain's competition regulator opened an abuse case over Meta's terms for using publishers' content.

The Competition and Markets Authority published a news item and a case page on October 30, 2026, both read at gov.uk. The case is titled "Suspected abuse of a dominant position in relation to Meta's commercial terms" and was opened under Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998. The authority says it will assess whether Meta holds a dominant position in one or more relevant markets in the United Kingdom and, if so, whether its commercial terms for businesses using its platforms and services amount to an abuse of that position. The concern named is that requiring news publishers and other content businesses to accept the terms could be an unlawful imposition of unfair trading conditions. The terms would allow Meta to collect content from business and publisher websites and use it in its own products and services, including AI features, without those businesses choosing whether or how their content is used. The complaints came from the News Media Association and the Movement for an Open Web. The timetable on the case page gives October 2026 to January 2027 for "rapid initial information gathering and engagement with Meta and third parties", and notes the dates "are indicative and may change". Sarah Cardell, chief executive, is quoted: "But where a company holds a dominant position, it must not use that position to impose unfair terms", and says the authority is "acting swiftly to investigate whether Meta's proposed changes may breach competition law". The announcement records that Meta first planned to introduce the changes on October 30, moved them to November 20 after engagement with the authority, and announced a pause on October 28 pending consultation with industry groups. No decision has been made on whether Meta has broken the law. The authority notes that Meta has not been designated with strategic market status, so it has limited powers over Meta under the digital markets regime, and that it is separately seeking information on the Meta One subscription and on external links on Facebook and Instagram. Neither page carries a case reference number or a penalty figure.

1. Oct 1

   A federal judge in Washington throws out the news publishers' antitrust case against Google's AI summaries. Edition 039's court card.

2. Oct 21

   A New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $25 billion for misrepresenting control of user data. Edition 058's penalty card.

3. Oct 26

   Meta files to sell $35 billion of stock in 2 underwritten offerings to fund AI infrastructure. Edition 063's capital card.

4. Oct 28

   Meta announces a pause to the rollout of the commercial terms, pending consultation with industry groups, 2 days before they were to take effect.

5. Oct 30

   The authority opens the Chapter II case, after the News Media Association and the Movement for an Open Web complained. The terms had already moved to November 20.