Elon Musk’s X could lose 4% of its global annual turnover for “quietly” training Grok using data from 60 million users in the EU without consent

X’s quest to make Grok “the most powerful AI by every metric by December this year” might be more costly than anticipated.

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What you need to know

What you need to know

AI-powered models heavily rely on internet sources for their training. Publishers and websites have been in constant legal battles with companies like Microsoft and OpenAI overcopyright infringement issues. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arguescopyright law doesn’t prohibit using copyrighted content to train AI models, he admits that it’s impossible to develop and create tools like ChatGPT without access.

X’s (formerly Twitter) Grok AI chatbot isn’t unique either. A few weeks ago, an avid X user discovered a setting change enabled by default that rolled out as part of a new update. Itallows the platform to train its dedicated chatbot using users' data “quietly.“However,you can turn off the featureby navigating through X’s settings (though you can only do it via the web app).

The move was received with criticism and backlash, rolling back to the privacy and security issues impacting the advancement of AI technology. The move caught the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) by surprise. For context, the DPC ensures X complies with the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Following the critical data issue, nine complaints have been filed against X by data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain (viaTechCrunch). The complaints also indicate that X doesn’t have a basis for using data belonging to over 60 million EU users to train its chatbot without consent.

In the interim, the DPC has already moved to the Irish High Court to seek legal action against X for using user data to train its AI model without consent. The DPC seeks an injunction to bar X from using Europeans' posts to train AI without authorization.

According to the chairman of privacy rights nonprofit noyb, Max Schrems:

“We have seen countless instances of inefficient and partial enforcement by the DPC in the past years. We want to ensure that Twitter fully complies with EU law, which — at a bare minimum — requires to ask users for consent in this case.”

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However, noyb deems the DPC’s actions as insufficient. The nonprofit organization claims that it would be impossible for X users to get the company to delete the information or data used to train Grok. To this end, X is inclined toward “legitimate interest” in AI-related processing as its defense strategy.

Depending on the outcome of the ruling against the complaints filed against X, the GDPR can fine the social media platform up to 4% of its global annual turnover. The institution’s mandate is to ensure that the use of personal data has a valid legal basis. It’s worth noting X suspended the processing of users' data for training Grok.

Despite having access to vast data,Grok was recently spotted spreading misinformation about the forthcoming US presidential election. X reportedly shoulder-shrugged the critical issue after it was flagged by five state secretaries and had already reached millions across social media platforms.

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.