The company behind X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, has stopped using European Union user data to train its Grok artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the Irish data regulator has said.
X agreed to “suspend its processing of the personal data contained in the public posts of X’s EU/EEA users which it processed between 7 May 2024 and 1 August 2024, for the purpose of training its AI ‘Grok,’” the Data Protection Commission (DPC) said in an emailed statement.
The move came as the operator of X gave an undertaking to the High Court to temporarily cease processing the personal data of its European users to train any of its AI systems. The undertaking was given in proceedings taken against Twitter International Unlimited Company by the DPC.
The agreement comes days after the DPC took court action against the company amid concerns at how EU user data was being handled. It covers X’s users across the EU and European Economic Area, where the DPC in Ireland is the main regulator for the company.
Inheritance tax: How many people actually pay it?
‘Our elderly mum requires full-time care at home. How much will it cost us and is there any tax relief?’
Cities need to be run in new ways, and not just by officials, or councillors, says former British mayor
Recent deals shine spotlight on Ireland’s buoyant M&A market
“Commissioner Dale Sunderland and I welcome X’s agreement to suspend processing while the DPC, working in conjunction with our EU/EEA peer regulators, continue to examine the extent to which the processing complies with the GDPR,” DPC chairman Dr Des Hogan, said.
“One of our main roles as an independent regulator and rights-based organisation is to ensure the best outcome for data subjects and today’s developments will help us to continue protecting the rights and freedoms of X users across the EU and EEA. We will continue to engage with all data controllers to ensure the rights of our citizens under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the GDPR are upheld,” he added.
This was the first time that any lead supervisory authority has taken such action, and the first time that the DPC has sought to utilise its powers under section 134. This application was made to protect the rights and freedoms of X’s EU/EEA users, and came after extensive engagement between the DPC and X regarding its AI model training, the DPC added.
“Busy now, please check back later,” X said in an emailed response to questions.
- Sign up for Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
