Ireland Opens Investigation into X’s Use of Personal Data for AI Training

DUBLIN: Ireland’s data regulator on Friday said it had opened an investigation into social media platform X over the use of personal data collected from EU users to train its AI system, Grok.

Data Protection Commission to Conduct Inquiry

Ireland’s data protection commission (DPC) is the lead EU regulator for X due to the location of its EU operations in the country. It has the power to impose fines of up to 4% of a company’s global revenue under the EU’s strict general data protection regulation (GDPR).

Investigation Focuses on AI Training

The inquiry will look at “the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the X social media platform by EU/EEA users, for the purposes of training generative artificial intelligence models,” the DPC said in a statement.

Background on EU Regulations and Fines

US President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have criticised EU regulation of US companies and described fines imposed on US tech companies by the EU as a form of taxation.

X owner Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a top adviser to Trump, has also railed against EU regulations, mainly those imposed directly by Brussels on online content.

Previous Court Case and Agreement

The decision follows a court case last year in which the Irish regulator sought an order to restrict X from processing the data of EU users for the purposes of developing its AI systems.

X agreed to stop training its AI systems using personal data collected from EU users before they had the option to withdraw their consent. The Irish regulator ended its court proceedings weeks later, saying X had agreed the limits on a permanent basis.

Fines Imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission

The powerful Irish privacy regulator has fined the likes of Microsoft’s LinkedIn, TikTok and Meta since it was given sanctioning powers in 2018. Its fines to date of Meta total almost €3 billion.

X’s Previous Fine

X, or Twitter as it was called then, has not faced sanctions since the DPC fined it €450,000 (US$511,000) in 2020, the first penalty the regulator handed out under the new data privacy system.

Conclusion

The investigation into X’s use of personal data for AI training highlights the importance of data protection and the need for companies to adhere to EU regulations. The Irish Data Protection Commission has a track record of imposing significant fines on companies that violate these regulations, and it will be interesting to see what action is taken in this case.

FAQs

* What is the purpose of the investigation?
The investigation aims to examine X’s use of personal data collected from EU users to train its AI system, Grok.
* What are the potential consequences for X?
X could face fines of up to 4% of its global revenue if found to have violated EU data protection regulations.
* Has X faced sanctions before?
X has not faced sanctions since the DPC fined it €450,000 in 2020.