A European privacy watchdog, NOYB, has submitted nine complaints under GDPR against X. The group claims the social media company utilized personal data from over 60 million users within the EU for training the xAI large language model, Grok, without obtaining proper authorization. According to NOYB, this usage occurred without adequate user notification or consent, violating GDPR standards.
Disputed Data Practices
NOYB has raised issues concerning the improper use of vast amounts of personal information from users based in the EU and EEA. The advocacy organization argues that X's failure to be transparent about the data used for Grok's learning processes first became evident in late July 2024. A user observed modifications in X's account settings that enabled the use of posts and interactions for training Grok by default. NOYB holds that this practice infringes upon GDPR regulations.
Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) reached a pact with X to halt the processing of personal data through September. The DPC confirmed that unauthorized data processing occurred between May 7 and August 1, 2024, for training Grok. However, NOYB's chairman, Max Schrems, criticized the DPC's measures as insufficient.
Consequently, NOYB lodged several GDPR complaints, citing violations of multiple Articles, including 5(1) and (2), 6(1), and 9(1). They demand a thorough probe into why X failed to notify users about AI training and how the company intends to segregate EU data from non-EU data.
Future Steps Sought
NOYB's legal actions target multiple concerns: the absence of user notifications regarding Grok's training, the treatment of EU data already included in training datasets, and X's obligation to acquire explicit consent from users for data utilization. The group has also called for X to comply with GDPR requirements by prompting EU users for their consent to use personal data for AI training.
The complaints from NOYB comes the same week that Musk said that he will take employees from Tesla and X to drive the xAI startup. The shifting of resources has triggered reactions from investors. The Wall Street Journal reports that three Tesla shareholders have initiated legal action, claiming that diverting assets to xAI undermines Tesla's interests.
