Social media platform X has agreed to temporarily stop using personal data from European Union users. They data will not be used to train its AI systems, due to concerns over consent. This agreement was revealed in an Irish court on Thursday.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), the primary EU regulator for major US internet companies due to their EU headquarters in Ireland, sought a court order this week to restrict X from processing user data for AI development. The regulator’s move follows concerns that X had begun using EU users’ data for AI training before they had the chance to withdraw their consent.
X allows users to decide whether their public posts can be used by its AI chatbot, Grok, by adjusting their privacy settings. However, Judge Leonie Reynolds noted that X started processing EU users’ data on May 7, but only provided the option to opt out from July 16. Additionally, this opt-out feature was not initially available to all users.
A lawyer for X informed the court that data collected from EU users between May 7 and August 1 would not be used. Until, the court rules on the DPC’s suspension order. X is set to file opposition papers against the order by September 4.
On Wednesday, X’s Global Government Affairs account posted that the regulator’s order was “unwarranted, overboard, and singles out X without any justification.”
The DPC’s concerns mirror similar actions taken against other tech giants. In June, Meta Platforms delayed launching its Meta AI models in Europe. They decision followed a request from the Irish DPC, and earlier this year. Alphabet’s Google agreed to delay and modify its Gemini AI chatbot after discussions with the Irish regulator.
