A coalition of ten Norwegian media organisations has taken legal action against Meta, arguing that the company's revised terms for business accounts would strip publishers of control over their journalism and allow it to be used for artificial intelligence products without explicit consent.
The plaintiffs, which include public broadcaster NRK, media groups Schibsted, Amedia, Polaris, Aller, and the Norwegian news agency NTB, filed a request with the Oslo District Court for a provisional injunction to block the new terms from taking effect on 20 November. The injunction would remain in place until the court rules on the substance of the case.
Meta announced on 8 October that it would update its Commercial Terms, affecting all professional account holders on Facebook and Instagram. The company initially planned to roll out the changes on 30 October but postponed them after pushback from European publishers and antitrust authorities. Meta said the delay would give it "more time to explain to our partners and stakeholders what's changing and what's not."
Under the new terms, Meta would gain the right to collect articles, photos, and videos from publishers' websites, including content behind paywalls, and use them to develop AI products. Critics argue that publishers are being forced into an "all-or-nothing" choice: accept the terms or lose their presence on Facebook and Instagram entirely.
Legal challenge to test publisher rights
Lene Eltvik Vindfeld, head of the Norwegian Media Businesses' Association (MBL), said in a statement: "The fear is that the companies will use this power to secure rights over journalistic content." She added: "Meta uses media groups' investments to develop artificial intelligence services that compete with them directly. This is both unacceptable and distorts competition."
The Norwegian case is part of a broader European dispute over how tech platforms use journalism. Earlier this month, MBL and NRK threatened to sue Meta over fraudulent advertisements that impersonated them to defraud internet users. The new lawsuit focuses on the commercial terms, which the plaintiffs say leave no opt-out other than deleting accounts.
Meta has not commented directly on the Norwegian lawsuit, but the company has previously stated that its updated terms are designed to clarify how business accounts interact with its services. The company has also faced similar scrutiny from European regulators, who are examining whether its data collection practices comply with the Digital Markets Act.
The outcome of the Oslo case could set a precedent for how publishers across Europe negotiate with AI developers. In recent months, other European media groups have taken steps to protect their content, such as blocking web crawlers used by AI companies. The Norwegian lawsuit is one of the first to challenge Meta's terms directly in court.
If the injunction is granted, it would temporarily halt the new terms for Norwegian publishers, giving them time to negotiate a more balanced arrangement. The case also highlights the growing tension between the need for high-quality journalism and the appetite of tech giants for data to train AI models.
For now, the Norwegian publishers are seeking a clear ruling that their journalism cannot be used without permission. As Vindfeld put it, "Meta uses media groups' investments to develop artificial intelligence services that compete with them directly. This is both unacceptable and distorts competition."
