Elon Musk's xAI hit with nine different complaints of breaching EU privacy laws to train Grok AI

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence service GrokAI, is facing legal challenges in Europe over alleged breaches of the EU’s data privacy regulations.

The European Centre for Digital Rights, known as NOYB (None of Your Business), has filed nine complaints across various EU countries, accusing Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) of unlawfully collecting data from over 60 million users to train its AI model, Grok.

The controversy began in July when users of X noticed a change in their data settings, allowing their public posts to be used for AI training.

NOYB claims that X implemented this change without properly informing users or obtaining their consent, a violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The complaints have been filed in France, Greece, Ireland, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Poland.

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One of the primary issues raised by NOYB is that X failed to demonstrate a “legitimate interest” in collecting such a vast amount of personal data.

Furthermore, the platform’s lack of transparency regarding how the data would be handled has been flagged as another violation of GDPR. Users were given an opt-out option in their data-sharing settings, but NOYB argues that this dissuades users from exercising their right to choose, as GDPR typically requires an opt-in for such data usage.

NOYB’s complaints highlight concerns that the treatment of personal data under these new settings might be irreversible, and X’s practices may not comply with the “right to be forgotten” rule, which allows users to request the deletion of their data.

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In response to similar concerns raised by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), X announced that it would cease using European users’ data to train Grok AI but criticized the DPC’s order as “unwarranted” and “overboard.”

Despite this concession, NOYB is urging regulatory bodies, like France’s National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), to take decisive action against X’s practices.

The outcome of these legal challenges could have significant implications for how AI companies operate in the EU, particularly concerning data privacy and user consent. NOYB’s chairman, Max Schrems, emphasized the importance of companies seeking explicit user consent before using personal data for AI training, arguing that it is both feasible and necessary to protect user privacy.

As the legal proceedings unfold, the focus will remain on how X and xAI manage user data and whether their practices align with European data protection standards.