Ireland’s privacy watchdog has opened an investigation against Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter), over using personal data gathered from European users to train its AI system chatbot, Grok.
The news comes ahead of X continuing to develop the latest AI-powered models despite the agreement to discontinue its use of personal data from European users in 2024.
The investigation launched by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) aims to interrogate whether X has processed personal data lawfully from publicly accessible posts posted by EU users.
Last year, DPC filed a lawsuit against X, accusing it of a breach of data collected from publicly accessible posts made by EU users.
However, X agreed to work with DPC and discontinued its use of data, prompting DPC to withdraw the case.
It is pertinent to mention that X’s European headquarters is situated in Ireland, and DPC works as the company’s lead regulator in Europe.
For violations, the watchdog can impose penalties of up to EUR 20 million or 4% of a platform’s total annual revenue.
