The Data Protection Commission (DPC) in Ireland has begun an investigation into Elon Musk's X regarding the social media platform's use of personal data collected.
The DPC will investigate how X processes personal data “comprised” in publicly accessible posts by European users for the purposes of training generative AI models, according to a Reuters report. The powerful Irish privacy regulator has issued fines to Microsoft, TikTok, and Meta in the past. Its fines to Meta total almost €3 billion (roughly $3.38 billion).
X quietly opted in users to sharing data with xAI, Musk’s AI company, to train its AI chatbot Grok, in 2024. Last month, Musk announced that xAI had acquired X.
Under EU's GDPR rules, Ireland's data regulator has the power to fine companies up to 4% of their global revenue for processing people's data, which requires them to have a valid legal basis for processing their data. Last year, the agency sought a court order to stop X from using European user data for AI training, and now it's initiating its latest investigation.
