A São Paulo court granted an injunction on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, barring Meta from collecting and using, without authorisation, journalistic content from outlets affiliated with the National Newspaper Association (ANJ), the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (ABERT) and the National Association of Magazine Editors (ANER). Judge Guilherme Madeira Dezem, of São Paulo's 44th Civil Court, suspended part of the company's new Commercial Terms, which were due to take effect on 20 November.
What the injunction suspends
The suspended terms would have allowed Meta to use automated programs to access, copy, store and analyse articles, photographs, videos and other material published on the outlets' websites — including content published outside Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads and works protected by copyright. The injunction also bars using that material to develop, research, maintain, train or adjust artificial intelligence systems, including Meta AI, and forbids bots, scrapers and other automated software from collecting content from the affiliated outlets' domains.
Fine and duration
Meta must also keep the affiliated outlets' accounts, pages, groups, profiles and business tools fully working, with no blocks, restrictions or retaliation for refusing the new terms. Non-compliance carries a daily fine of R$ 1 million, capped at R$ 100 million. The injunction is provisional and remains in force until the case is finally judged.
Update to a case already covered
This is an update to a case previously covered by Geekiki: in October, Meta had already postponed these same commercial terms to 20 November. The associations say the Brazilian decision is the first known in the world granted to a coalition of media associations against this kind of contractual change — on 28 October, a Norwegian court had already temporarily suspended the new rules after an action by ten media groups in that country.
Image credit: Olhar Digital, illustration about artificial intelligence.
Sources:
- ANJ — Court bars Meta from using journalistic content without authorisation
- Olhar Digital — Brazilian court bars Meta from using journalistic content without authorisation
- Geekiki — Previous article: Meta postpones commercial terms to 20 November
Transparency: this article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence, cross-checking public posts and internet sources. Consult the original sources to verify the details.
Muse
