Global: Privacy Watchdog Surprised by X’s Opt-In Data Sharing for Grok AI Training

X, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced a subtle change that appears to automatically include user data in the training pool for its new AI model, Grok. This development, which was noticed by platform users on Friday, has drawn attention from X’s European privacy watchdog.

Grok, a conversational AI developed by Elon Musk-owned X, is positioned as a competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, boasting features that emphasize humor and less political correctness. Users concerned about their data being used for Grok’s training can find instructions on how to disable this feature here.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which oversees X’s compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), has expressed surprise at this recent update. The DPC informed TechCrunch that it has been in discussions with X about various issues and was caught off guard by the new data-sharing policy.

“The DPC has been in ongoing discussions with X on this topic, with our latest interaction occurring just yesterday,” said Graham Doyle, DPC deputy commissioner. “We are surprised by the recent developments and have followed up with X today. We anticipate further engagement early next week.”

Under GDPR, which allows for penalties of up to 4% of global annual turnover for confirmed breaches, X must have a valid legal basis for processing user data. The specifics of X’s new data-sharing setting are ambiguous, leaving uncertainty about whether X is using all user data for Grok’s training or only data from interactions with the AI chatbot, available to X Premium subscribers.

The DPC’s concern echoes recent regulatory actions, such as Meta’s pause on repurposing data from Facebook and Instagram for AI training in Europe, following similar GDPR complaints.

The DPC expects further updates on the Grok AI data-sharing issue in the coming week. We reached out to X for clarification on the legal basis for processing European user data for Grok training but received an automated response stating, “Busy now, please check back later.”