The International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) published version 2.0 of its Generative AI Opt-Out Best Practice Recommendations on 30 March 2026.
The update incorporates two protocols introduced in late 2025: the Really Simple Licensing specification and Cloudflare's Content Signals protocol. It also adds suggested User Agent identifiers that publishers may use in robots.txt files and reorganises parts of the guidance to make implementation easier to understand.
IPTC describes the recommendations as a practical, immediate framework while work toward a more formal global standard continues through the Internet Engineering Task Force. Rights signals and robots.txt instructions communicate preferences, but publishers should not treat technical signalling alone as guaranteed legal enforcement or as a substitute for professional legal advice.
Disclaimer: Media Hole is not affiliated with IPTC, Cloudflare or the organisations associated with the cited protocols. This post is provided only for educational and informational purposes. Names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Publishers should consult the official guidance and obtain appropriate legal or technical advice for their circumstances.
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Official publication date: 30 March 2026.
Scope note: The document is an industry best-practice recommendation, not legal advice or a guarantee that every AI crawler will comply.
Poster note: The accompanying image is an original, unofficial informational graphic. It does not reproduce organisation logos, official webpages or protected campaign artwork.