Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has initiated High Court proceedings against Twitter International, the Irish arm of Elon Musk’s X, over concerns regarding the use of European users’ public posts to train the company’s artificial intelligence tools. The commission is specifically worried about the potential misuse of user data to develop the next version of Grok, a project Musk has announced will be released this month.
In July, X introduced a change that automatically enabled a setting allowing the platform to utilize users’ public posts to further train its AI chatbot. However, the commission claims that X failed to adequately inform users about this change, despite having a help page in place since May that outlined the opt-out process. The DPC argues that this lack of transparency is insufficient, as a significant number of European-based X users have had their data processed without being given the opportunity to opt out.
The commission alleges that X’s actions violate the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires companies to obtain explicit consent from users before processing their data. The DPC also claims that X’s failure to provide users with a timely opt-out mechanism is a breach of GDPR regulations.
To lawfully process user data, companies must have a valid legal basis, such as obtaining express consent or fulfilling contractual obligations. However, the DPC’s complaint suggests that X has not met these requirements. Twitter International has reportedly refused to halt the processing of user data and delay the launch of the next version of Grok, prompting the commission to take the matter to court.
The DPC is seeking a court order to suspend or prohibit X from training its AI system with user data. If the court finds X in breach of GDPR rules, the company could face a fine of up to 4 percent of its annual worldwide turnover.
