Ireland's Data Regulator Launches Investigation into X's Use of EU User Data for AI Training

Ireland's data regulator investigates X's use of European user data to train Grok | TechCrunch

Ireland's data regulator, the Data Protection Commission (DPC), said Friday that it has opened an investigation into Elon Musk's X over the social media platform's use of personal data collected from European users to train Grok. 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 euros (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. Ireland's data regulator can impose fines of up to 4% of a company's global revenue under the EU's GDPR rules, which require that companies have a valid legal basis for processing people's data. The agency's latest inquiry comes after it sought a court order last year to restrict X from processing European user data for AI training.

Irish regulator investigates X over use of EU personal data to train Grok AI

DUBLIN, April 11 (Reuters) - Ireland's data regulator on Friday said it had opened an investigation into social media platform X over the use of personal data collected from European Union users to train its AI system Grok. Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the lead EU regulator for X due to the location of its EU operations in the country. It has the power to impose fines of up to 4% of a company's global revenue under the EU's strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The inquiry will look at "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the X social media platform by EU/EEA users, for the purposes of training generative artificial intelligence models," the DPC said in a statement. U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have criticised EU regulation of U.S. companies and described fines imposed on U.S. tech companies by the EU as a form of taxation. X owner Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a top adviser to Trump, has also railed against EU regulations, mainly those imposed directly by Brussels on online content. The decision follows a court case last year in which the Irish regulator sought an order to restrict X from processing the data of EU users for the purposes of developing its AI systems. X agreed to stop training its AI systems using personal data collected from EU users before they had the option to withdraw their consent. The Irish regulator ended its court proceedings weeks later, saying X had agreed the limits on a permanent basis. The powerful Irish privacy regulator has fined the likes of Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab LinkedIn, TikTok and Meta (META.O), opens new tab since it was given sanctioning powers in 2018. Its fines to date of Meta total almost 3 billion euros. X, or Twitter as it was then called, has not faced sanctions since the DPC fined it 450,000 euros ($511,000) in 2020, the first penalty the regulator handed out under the new data privacy system. ($1 = 0.8808 euros) Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Catarina Demony Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Boards, Policy & Regulation

Irish privacy watchdog investigates Elon Musk's X's use of personal data to train Grok AI chatbot

LONDON (AP) -- Ireland's data privacy watchdog said Friday it's investigating Elon Musk's social media platform X over its use of personal data to train his artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. The Data Protection Commission said it has opened an inquiry into "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts" that European users posted on X. "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs" under the bloc's data privacy law, the commission said in a statement posted online. An LLM, or a large language model, is a vast pool of text including articles, blog posts, essays and other material scraped from online sources that is used to teach the algorithms underpinning generative AI systems. Under the 27-nation EU's stringent data privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, the Irish watchdog acts as the lead regulator for X because its European headquarters is based in Dublin. The watchdog has the power to impose penalties of up to 20 million euros or 4% of a company's total annual revenue for severe violations.

Ireland's privacy regulator is investigating X's use of public data to train Grok

The country is handling EU rules enforcement because the company has headquarters in Dublin. Ireland's data privacy regulator is investigating Elon Musk's X. The country's Data Protection Commission (DPC) said on Friday (via Reuters) that it's opening an inquiry into the social platform's use of European users' public posts to train its Grok AI chatbot. In this case, Ireland handles EU regulation enforcement because X's European headquarters are in Dublin. The DPC said it will probe "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the 'X' social media platform by EU/EEA users." Under Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules, Ireland has the legal muscle to fine X up to four percent of its global revenue. "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs," Ireland's DPC said. If this sounds familiar, the DPC took X to court in 2024, seeking an order to stop it from training Grok on EU user data without consent. That followed a platform policy change in July that let the social site use public posts to train its AI chatbot. However, Ireland's data regulator ended the legal proceedings weeks later, saying the company had agreed to permanently limit its use of EU users' personal data in Grok. The DPC hasn't specified why it now believes the company may be violating GDPR rules. The DPC's last fine against the company (then known as Twitter) was a €450,000 penalty in 2020 for failing to notify the regulator about a data breach within the 72-hour window.

Irish privacy watchdog investigates Elon Musk's X's use of personal data to train Grok AI chatbot

LONDON (AP) -- Ireland's data privacy watchdog said Friday it's investigating Elon Musk's social media platform X over its use of personal data to train his artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. The Data Protection Commission said it has opened an inquiry into "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts" that European users posted on X. "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs" under the bloc's data privacy law, the commission said in a statement posted online. An LLM, or a large language model, is a vast pool of text including articles, blog posts, essays and other material scraped from online sources that is used to teach the algorithms underpinning generative AI systems. Under the 27-nation EU's stringent data privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, the Irish watchdog acts as the lead regulator for X because its European headquarters is based in Dublin. The watchdog has the power to impose penalties of up to 20 million euros or 4% of a company's total annual revenue for severe violations.

Irish Regulator Investigates X Over Use of EU Personal Data to Train Grok AI

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's data regulator on Friday said it had opened an investigation into social media platform X over the use of personal data collected from European Union users to train its AI system Grok. Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the lead EU regulator for X due to the location of its EU operations in the country. It has the power to impose fines of up to 4% of a company's global revenue under the EU's strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The inquiry will look at "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the X social media platform by EU/EEA users, for the purposes of training generative artificial intelligence models," the DPC said in a statement. U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have criticised EU regulation of U.S. companies and described fines imposed on U.S. tech companies by the EU as a form of taxation. X owner Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a top adviser to Trump, has also railed against EU regulations, mainly those imposed directly by Brussels on online content. The decision follows a court case last year in which the Irish regulator sought an order to restrict X from processing the data of EU users for the purposes of developing its AI systems. X agreed to stop training its AI systems using personal data collected from EU users before they had the option to withdraw their consent. The Irish regulator ended its court proceedings weeks later, saying X had agreed the limits on a permanent basis. The powerful Irish privacy regulator has fined the likes of Microsoft's LinkedIn, TikTok and Meta since it was given sanctioning powers in 2018. Its fines to date of Meta total almost 3 billion euros. X, or Twitter as it was then called, has not faced sanctions since the DPC fined it 450,000 euros ($511,000) in 2020, the first penalty the regulator handed out under the new data privacy system. ($1 = 0.8808 euros) (Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Catarina Demony)

Irish Privacy Watchdog Investigates Elon Musk's X's Use of Personal Data to Train Grok AI Chatbot

LONDON (AP) -- Ireland's data privacy watchdog said Friday it's investigating Elon Musk's social media platform X over its use of personal data to train his artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. The Data Protection Commission said it has opened an inquiry into "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts" that European users posted on X. "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs" under the bloc's data privacy law, the commission said in a statement posted online. An LLM, or a large language model, is a vast pool of text including articles, blog posts, essays and other material scraped from online sources that is used to teach the algorithms underpinning generative AI systems. Under the 27-nation EU's stringent data privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, the Irish watchdog acts as the lead regulator for X because its European headquarters is based in Dublin. The watchdog has the power to impose penalties of up to 20 million euros or 4% of a company's total annual revenue for severe violations. X did not respond to an email request for comment. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Irish regulator investigates X over use of EU personal data to train Grok AI

U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have criticised EU regulation of U.S. companies and described fines imposed on U.S. tech companies by the EU as a form of taxation. X agreed to stop training its AI systems using personal data collected from EU users before they had the option to withdraw their consent.Ireland's data regulator on Friday said it had opened an investigation into social media platform X over the use of personal data collected from European Union users to train its AI system Grok. Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the lead EU regulator for X due to the location of its EU operations in the country. It has the power to impose fines of up to 4% of a company's global revenue under the EU's strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The inquiry will look at "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the X social media platform by EU/EEA users, for the purposes of training generative artificial intelligence models," the DPC said in a statement. U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have criticised EU regulation of U.S. companies and described fines imposed on U.S. tech companies by the EU as a form of taxation. X owner Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a top adviser to Trump, has also railed against EU regulations, mainly those imposed directly by Brussels on online content. The decision follows a court case last year in which the Irish regulator sought an order to restrict X from processing the data of EU users for the purposes of developing its AI systems. X agreed to stop training its AI systems using personal data collected from EU users before they had the option to withdraw their consent. The Irish regulator ended its court proceedings weeks later, saying X had agreed the limits on a permanent basis. The powerful Irish privacy regulator has fined the likes of Microsoft's LinkedIn, TikTok and Meta since it was given sanctioning powers in 2018. Its fines to date of Meta total almost 3 billion euros. X, or Twitter as it was then called, has not faced sanctions since the DPC fined it 450,000 euros ($511,000) in 2020, the first penalty the regulator handed out under the new data privacy system.

Irish watchdog to probe Musk's X over data use for AI tool Grok

Ireland's data watchdog has launched an inquiry into Elon Musk's social media platform X over the processing of European users' posts for the purpose of training its AI model, Grok. The probe will examine compliance with a range of key provisions of data rules, including the lawfulness of the processing, a statement from the Data Protection Commission said on Friday. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The inquiry will likely add to tensions between the European Union and the US over the bloc's regulations of technology companies. The EU's AI Act, which include various rules and requirements on regulating the tech went into effect last year, to the dismay of many tech bosses. Musk has been at odds with the Irish DPC before, which had already previously compelled his platform to stop harvesting data from European users for Grok. Following that original notification, X agreed to temporarily suspend the use of the data to train Grok. "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok large language models," the DPC said in the statement.

Irish Data watchdog to investigate X's Grok AI tool | BreakingNews.ie

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has begun an investigation into the Grok artificial intelligence model on the X social media platform. The inquiry will examine the processing of personal data in publicly accessible posts on X by EU users, for the purposes of training generative artificial intelligence models, in particular the Grok Large Language Models (LLMs). A DPC statement said: "The inquiry will examine compliance with a range of key provisions of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), including about the lawfulness and transparency of the processing." Grok is the name of a group of AI models developed by xAI. These models are used to power a generative AI querying tool, which is available on the X platform, owned by Elon Musk. The DPC said: "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs."

Irish regulator investigates X over use of EU personal data to train Grok AI

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's data regulator on Friday said it had opened an investigation into social media platform X over the use of personal data collected from European Union users to train its AI system Grok. Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the lead EU regulator for X due to the location of its EU operations in the country. It has the power to impose fines of up to 4% of a company's global revenue under the EU's strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The inquiry will look at "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the X social media platform by EU/EEA users, for the purposes of training generative artificial intelligence models," the DPC said in a statement. U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have criticised EU regulation of U.S. companies and described fines imposed on U.S. tech companies by the EU as a form of taxation. X owner Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a top adviser to Trump, has also railed against EU regulations, mainly those imposed directly by Brussels on online content. The decision follows a court case last year in which the Irish regulator sought an order to restrict X from processing the data of EU users for the purposes of developing its AI systems. X agreed to stop training its AI systems using personal data collected from EU users before they had the option to withdraw their consent. The Irish regulator ended its court proceedings weeks later, saying X had agreed the limits on a permanent basis. The powerful Irish privacy regulator has fined the likes of Microsoft's LinkedIn, TikTok and Meta since it was given sanctioning powers in 2018. Its fines to date of Meta total almost 3 billion euros. X, or Twitter as it was then called, has not faced sanctions since the DPC fined it 450,000 euros ($511,000) in 2020, the first penalty the regulator handed out under the new data privacy system. (Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Catarina Demony)

EU to probe use of personal data by X's AI chatbot - VnExpress International

The probe relates to the "processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the 'X' social media platform" by EU users, said the Data Protection Commission (DPC). "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs (Large Language Models)," said the DPC statement. Grok is the name of a group of LLMs -- or generative artificial intelligence models -- developed by Musk, which can be accessed on his social media platform X. Last year, after X began using personal data in public posts made by European users, Ireland's DPC launched a court case arguing that this violated users' data privacy rights. As X has its European headquarters in Ireland, the country's data protection commission is the lead regulator in Europe for the social platform. Last August, X said it would work with the DPC after agreeing to suspend its use of the data, prompting the DPC to drop its case. The social media platform has continued to develop new AI models since then. The Irish authority said Friday it would probe "compliance with a range of key provisions" of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including whether data has been processed with "lawfulness and transparency".

Irish privacy watchdog investigates X over use of personal data to train Grok AI chatbot

LONDON (AP) -- Ireland's data privacy watchdog said Friday it's investigating Elon Musk's social media platform X over its use of personal data to train his artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. The Data Protection Commission said it has opened an inquiry into "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts" that European users posted on X. "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs" under the bloc's data privacy law, the commission said in a statement posted online. An LLM, or a large language model, is a vast pool of text including articles, blog posts, essays and other material scraped from online sources that is used to teach the algorithms underpinning generative AI systems. Under the 27-nation EU's stringent data privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, the Irish watchdog acts as the lead regulator for X because its European headquarters is based in Dublin.