Data protection body files complaint against X over AI chatbot training
Vienna-based European data protection organisation Noyb has filed complaints against social media platform X in eight European countries, including Belgium. Noyb's complaint is against the chatbot Grok, which trains its artificial intelligence on user contributions by default. This goes against Europe's General Data Protection Regulation.
X has recently started feeding the personal data of more than 60 million European users into its Grok AI technology, “without ever informing them or asking for their consent”, according to Noyb, short for "none of your business".
Earlier this month, Ireland’s data protection authority DPC filed a complaint against X because users were not informed in advance and asked for permission to use their data for AI training. The DPC, acting on behalf of the European Union, said X had agreed to suspend its processing of users’ personal data for its chatbot.
According to Noyb, this does not go far enough. News agency AFP reports that Noyb founder Max Schrems said the DPC had failed to “question the legality” of the actual processing, taking action “around the edges, not at the core of the problem”. Noyb also warned that it remained unclear what would happen with already processed data.
Calling for a full investigation, Noyb filed complaints in Belgium, Austria, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. It requested an “urgency procedure” against X that allows data protection authorities in the eight countries to act.
“Companies that interact directly with users simply need to show them a yes/no prompt before using their data,” said Schrems. “They do this regularly for lots of other things, so it would definitely be possible for AI training as well.”
Grok is competing with other AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT. The software is not developed directly at X, but by xAI, a company also owned by Elon Musk.
The logo of US online social media and social networking service X on a smartphone screen © PHOTO KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
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