Meta in talks with major publishers over AI content licensing

Meta is in negotiations with publishers including Axel Springer, Fox Corp., and News Corp. about licensing deals that would allow the company to use news articles in its AI products, such as chatbots. The talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The company has already secured a licensing agreement with Reuters, but its broader discussions with media companies have only recently begun. For Meta, the move marks a shift: in 2022 it shut down Facebook’s News Tab and stepped back from directly funding journalism.

Other tech companies have moved earlier in this area. OpenAI has inked content deals with publishers such as Hearst, while Amazon has also pursued licensing agreements. Rising resistance from publishers over the use of their material for AI training has become the backdrop for these negotiations.