Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has pledged to permanently stop exploiting the personal data of its European users for artificial intelligence (AI) training, announced the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) on Wednesday.
Previously criticised, this practice had already been suspended in August. The DPC, which represents the European Union, confirmed the removal of a lawsuit in the Irish High Court after X agreed to continue honouring the terms of this commitment involving Grok, its AI technology.
"Now, it’s a permanent commitment," said Graham Doyle, Head of Communications at the Irish regulator. As of 14:00 GMT, no response had been received from social media platform X.
The DPC revealed that X used the personal data of its European users from 7 May 7 until 1 August. They worked alongside European regulators in their inquiry.
Targeted by complaints in eight European countries, X’s "illegal" use of users’ personal data in an AI programme was identified by Austrian association Noyb in early August.
Simultaneously, the DPC sought an opinion from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) on Wednesday. They aim to address "some fundamental questions" regarding data processing for the development and training of an AI model, according to the Irish regulator’s statement.
As X’s European headquarters is located in Ireland, like many Silicon Valley tech giants, the Irish DPC operates on behalf of the EU.
