Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) has initiated an investigation into social media platform X (formerly Twitter) concerning the use of European Union (EU) citizens' personal data to train its artificial intelligence (AI) system, Grok. ​ 

Background: Grok AI and Data Collection

Grok is a generative AI chatbot developed by X, designed to provide real-time information and engage in conversations with users. The DPC's inquiry focuses on whether publicly accessible posts from EU/European Economic Area (EEA) users on X were processed lawfully under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the purpose of training Grok. 

Legal Framework and Potential Penalties

Under GDPR, organizations must obtain explicit consent from individuals before processing their personal data. Failure to comply can result in significant fines, up to 20 million euros or 4% of a company's global annual revenue, whichever is higher. As X's EU headquarters are based in Ireland, the DPC serves as its lead regulator within the EU. ​ 

Previous Commitments and Ongoing Concerns

This investigation follows a prior legal dispute where X agreed to cease training its AI systems using personal data collected from EU users without their consent. Despite this agreement, the DPC has reopened the inquiry to ensure compliance and address any ongoing or new concerns regarding data processing practices. ​ 

Legal Experts' Perspectives

Legal experts emphasize the importance of transparency and user consent in data processing activities, especially concerning AI training. The outcome of this investigation could set a precedent for how companies handle personal data in AI development, reinforcing the necessity for strict adherence to data protection laws.​ 

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