Meta · Llama API Terms of Service · View original document ↗

Prohibition on Scraping and Automated Data Collection

Medium severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Rare · 1 of 343 platforms
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Recent governance activity Meta recorded 13 documented changes in the last 30 days.
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Document Record

What it is

Developers are not allowed to scrape Meta's platform, use unauthorized bots or automated tools to collect data, or attempt to reverse engineer Meta's software. Only Meta's official APIs and developer tools may be used for automated data access.

This analysis describes what Meta's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This provision defines the permitted scope of automated data access, which affects how developers can build data-intensive applications and limits the types of integrations that are permissible without prior authorization.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium May 21, 2026

The updated terms authorize Meta to retain user-submitted content if its systems flag the content for a potential policy violation, in addition to retention tied to legal compliance and contractual rights. This expands the circumstances under which content may be preserved without explicit time limits. Under the revised language, content retention decisions may now be driven by automated policy-violation flagging in addition to legal or contractual necessity. Developers integrating the Llama API should understand that flagged content may be retained indefinitely pending policy review.

View change record →

Clause Stability Mostly Stable

1
Change
1
Month Monitored
May 12, 2026
First Seen
May 20, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 1153 other provisions on other platforms.
This clause has changed once in 1 month of monitoring.

Change history

removed May 21, 2026

Removal of anti-scraping and reverse-engineering provisions eliminates restrictions on unauthorized access methods and code analysis, reducing technical protection language.

View full change record →

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

This restriction limits the methods by which developers can access platform data on behalf of users, which has implications for the types of features and integrations that third-party apps can offer to consumers using Meta-connected services.

How other platforms handle this

Midjourney Medium

11 Inferences Conclusions that could be used to create a profile reflecting an individual's preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, aptitude. YES. YES

MetaMask Medium

We may share your personal information with our affiliates, meaning entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with Consensys. We also share information with service providers who assist in operating our services, subject to confidentiality obligations.

Ledger Medium

At Ledger, earning and maintaining our users' trust is a top priority. That's why we are deeply committed not only to protecting your privacy and securing your personal data, but also to being fully transparent about how we handle it.

See all platforms with this clause type →

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
You must not, and must not facilitate or enable others to, scrape or crawl any part of our Platform or access the Platform using any automated means (such as bots, scrapers, or crawlers) other than those permitted by these Terms or Meta's official developer tools. You must not, and must not attempt to, decode, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any component of the Platform.

— Excerpt from Meta's Llama API Terms of Service

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in the US context, which has been interpreted in varying ways regarding unauthorized automated access to platform data. The Ninth Circuit's hiQ v. LinkedIn ruling and subsequent developments have created some uncertainty about the scope of CFAA liability for scraping publicly accessible data. EU equivalents include the Directive on attacks against information systems. The relevant enforcement authorities include the US DOJ for CFAA criminal matters and civil litigants in private enforcement. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The prohibition on scraping and reverse engineering is standard in platform terms and aligns with common industry practice. The CFAA-based legal risk for unauthorized scraping creates meaningful enforcement exposure for developers who exceed their licensed access scope, though the boundaries of 'unauthorized access' under the CFAA remain subject to ongoing judicial interpretation. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU developers should assess whether equivalent national computer crime statutes apply to automated access beyond licensed scope. Researchers and journalists in some jurisdictions may have limited exemptions for automated data collection for public interest purposes, though the enforceability of such exemptions in the context of private platform terms is jurisdiction-dependent. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Developers who use third-party data enrichment or analytics vendors that operate by scraping Meta platform data should assess whether those vendor practices would constitute a violation of this provision and whether the developer could face indirect liability for facilitating prohibited scraping. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should audit all automated data collection mechanisms in their Meta-connected applications to confirm they operate exclusively through Meta's official APIs and developer tools. Any use of third-party data vendors that include Meta-sourced data should be reviewed for compliance with this provision.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable regulations

BIPA
Illinois, USA
CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
COPPA
United States Federal
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
DMA
European Union
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
UK GDPR
United Kingdom
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US
VPPA
United States Federal

Provision details

Document information
Document
Llama API Terms of Service
Entity
Meta
Document last updated
May 11, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 11, 2026
Last verified
May 12, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-011488
Document ID
CA-D-00778
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
baefabd2047c61b77d3dbc86fb3962da868600ef84c32db58013c52ddbab3929
Analysis generated
May 11, 2026 11:49 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Meta
Document: Llama API Terms of Service
Record ID: CA-P-011488
Captured: 2026-05-11 11:49:07 UTC
SHA-256: baefabd2047c61b7…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/meta/llama-api-terms-of-service/prohibition-on-scraping-and-automated-data-collection/
Accessed: June 30, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Meta's Prohibition on Scraping and Automated Data Collection clause do?

This provision defines the permitted scope of automated data access, which affects how developers can build data-intensive applications and limits the types of integrations that are permissible without prior authorization.

How does this clause affect you?

This restriction limits the methods by which developers can access platform data on behalf of users, which has implications for the types of features and integrations that third-party apps can offer to consumers using Meta-connected services.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 1 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Meta?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Meta.