The social media platform X’s updated terms of service grant broad rights over user-generated content, raising alarms among users and privacy advocates as concerns about data use and AI training mount.
New Terms of Service by X Raise Concerns Over Data Usage and AI Training
New York, USA – The social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, recently announced updates to its terms of service that have sparked widespread concern among its users. Scheduled to take effect on November 15, the revised terms grant the platform an expansive license to utilise user-generated content globally. Notably, X will have the ability to employ this content for purposes such as training machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) models, a move that is raising eyebrows among creators and privacy advocates alike.
The key change states that by posting on or through its services, users permit X a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to make their content accessible globally. This includes the right to analyse the content for AI model training, whether generative or otherwise. In essence, continued use of the platform signifies users’ agreement to these terms, allowing X to potentially use their data without additional consent.
Creative professionals, particularly artists using the platform, have expressed concerns about their work being used to train AI models, which could, theoretically, replace human creativity in the future. Additionally, there are growing fears surrounding the potential misuse of personal information, with some users already removing personal photos from their feeds to avoid being part of these AI datasets.
Significantly, the updated terms stipulate that any disputes will be resolved in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts in Tarrant County, Texas. This presents a logistical challenge for disputants, given Tarrant County’s location over 100 miles from X’s headquarters outside Austin, Texas. This decision might affect users in terms of accessibility to legal recourse, especially if they disagree with these updated practices.
The platform’s proprietary AI chatbot, Grok, has previously come under scrutiny for propagating incorrect information about political events and generating misleading images of prominent figures. This update adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing discussion about AI ethics and information integrity.
Prior to this update, users had the option to opt out of data sharing for AI training through the platform’s privacy settings. This could be accessed under the “data sharing and personalization” settings, specifically concerning Grok. However, it remains uncertain whether the updated terms nullify this opt-out provision, as the current terms do not differentiate between different types of user accounts, including private ones, in licensing their data.
Alex Fink, CEO of Otherweb, a platform focused on combating misinformation using AI, highlighted that while broad content licensing is a common practice among social media platforms, X’s transparency about its intentions is notable. However, Fink also pointed out that legal terms often provide companies more operational flexibility than what might be evident in user interfaces and settings.
The update poses unanswered questions about user autonomy concerning personal data and further accentuates the broader debate on privacy in the digital age. As the implementation date looms, users will likely continue to appraise their stance regarding their engagement with the platform under the new terms.
Source: Noah Wire Services
