X's New Terms of Service Spark User Exodus and AI Training Concerns

Why X's new terms of service are driving some users to leave Elon Musk's platform

X's new terms of service, which took effect Nov. 15, are driving some users off Elon Musk's microblogging platform. The new terms include expansive permissions requiring users to allow the company to use their data to train X's artificial intelligence models while also making users liable for as much as $15,000 in damages if they use the platform too much. The terms are prompting some longtime users of the service, both celebrities and everyday people, to post that they are taking their content to other platforms. "With the recent and upcoming changes to the terms of service -- and the return of volatile figures -- I find myself at a crossroads, facing a direction I can no longer fully support," actress Gabrielle Union posted on X the same day the new terms took effect, while announcing she would be leaving the platform. "I'm going to start winding down my Twitter account," a user with the handle @mplsFietser said in a post. "The changes to the terms of service are the final nail in the coffin for me." It's unclear just how many users have left X due specifically to the company's new terms of service, but since the start of November, many social media users have flocked to Bluesky, a microblogging startup whose origins stem from Twitter, the former name for X. Some users with new Bluesky accounts have posted that they moved to the service due to Musk and his support for President-elect Donald Trump. Bluesky's U.S. mobile app downloads have skyrocketed 651% since the start of November, according to estimates from Sensor Tower. In the same period, X and Meta's Threads are up 20% and 42%, respectively. X and Threads have much larger monthly user bases. Although Musk said in May that X has 600 million monthly users, market intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates X had 318 million monthly users as of October. That same month, Meta said Threads had nearly 275 million monthly users. Bluesky told CNBC on Thursday it had reached 21 million total users this week. Here are some of the noteworthy changes in X's new service terms and how they compare with those of rivals Bluesky and Threads.

X May Use Your Data for AI Training, Even If You Opt Out

Ever since election night on November 5, I've noticed a massive exodus of my X mutuals from the site. That's not too surprising -- owner Elon Musk has made his political affiliations clear, and those who don't want to support him financially are understandably bouncing. I myself have only stuck around because of work, although I've stopped posting as frequently. However, a new update to the X terms of service has even my finger hovering over the deactivate account button (even if there's technically a better way to leave Twitter behind). Starting today, X is now allowed to start feeding all your posts to its AI models, possibly even if you opt. The depth of the situation isn't quite clear, but regardless of what's actually happening behind the scenes, the language isn't encouraging. Freshly added to the terms' "Your Rights and Grant of Rights in the Content" subheading is a new mention of X's AI, which reads: "By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) [and] you agree that this license includes the right for us to (i) analyze text and other information you provide and to otherwise provide, promote, and improve the Services, including...for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type." I've highlighted the new text in bold. While the non-exclusive, royalty-free license itself is rather typical for a social media site, the updated terms now essentially mean that, by continuing to use the site, you're agreeing for X to train AI off of your posts. That alone has users concerned, but what has them confused is that X technically has already been openly training its AI on user posts, with the caveat that it's had a clear opt-out toggle. At time of writing, that toggle still shows up for me on both mobile and desktop, but with the new language, it's unclear if it actually does anything now, or if the new terms of service will take precedence should X choose to ignore a user's opt-out status. Unfortunately, it's unlikely there's going to be a clear answer until someone challenges the AI scraping in court, which has its own difficulties. Any lawsuits over Twitter's terms, according to the update, would be overseen by either "the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts located in Tarrant County, Texas," both of which are known for conservative judges. Given Musk's political leanings, as well as X's headquarter location within the state, it's possible the court could favor the company. X did not immediately respond to Lifehacker's request for clarification. Without clear communication, whether you trust X's AI not to scrape your data now falls on the honor system. If that's a bit shaky for you, I understand -- here's a guide on how to migrate your account to Bluesky, a popular Twitter alternative that's seen a massive boost in users amid Twitter's current exodus.

PSA: Your Twitter/X account is about to change forever

If you're on Twitter/X, you may have noticed a sudden stream of high-profile accounts heading for the exits. And no, it's not (just) about the election. This exodus is thanks to a new Terms of Service document, which takes effect on November 15. Although the company isn't talking about it, the new ToS gives owner Elon Musk the right to use your tweets, photos and videos to train his AI bot, Grok. The option to opt out of Grok training, something users currently have, may still exist in your settings the following day. But it also may not matter, legally speaking. Nothing about opting out is mentioned in the document you are required to sign. And it doesn't appear to make a difference if your account is locked: So far as this ToS is concerned, Grok gets to feed on it anyway. Oh yes, and following free speech is no longer free. You'll be on the hook for $15,000 in damages if your account accesses more than a million tweets a day. Not even the hardest of hardcore Twitter junkies will reach that number, but many researchers do. For anyone who tracks hate speech on X, this will have a chilling effect. The Knight Institute for the First Amendment at Columbia University calls it a "disturbing move" for a supposed free-speech advocate. Disagree with anything in this document, or any other changes going forward? According to the ToS, your only legal recourse is to fight the world's richest man in one court in rural Texas, many miles from X HQ in Austin. This happens to be a court where a judge who may still own a pile of Tesla stock has already given Musk favorable rulings. Don't want Elon Musk to feed your feed to his pet AI? There is, alas, only one way out of it now: delete your account. That's a drastic and highly emotive step to take, given all the hundreds or thousands of tweets that may be in there. You can download an archive of your tweets by following these steps, but the final step involves waiting for X to prepare the archive. Some users with a long history of tweets, who have downloaded this archive before, are reporting that the preparation is taking longer this time. This may not be a deliberate delay past the November 15 deadline, as some suggest; it may just be that the system is backed up with download requests. You may have good reason for staying, of course -- one being to ensure that no malicious actor grabs your handle and impersonates you. If you fear the removal of the block feature, which is also rolling out after November 15, you can lock your account down to ensure only your followers will see your tweets. Bottom line -- there's no one right way to leave. Jaime Lee Curtis posted a screenshot of her X deactivation on Instagram, along with the serenity prayer. Don Lemon left a simple statement on the service with his reasoning: the Terms of Service change. The Guardian wrote an article explaining that its decision to no longer post on X had been in the works for a while. And after the Center For Countering Digital Hate posted its final tweets, it deleted the account. And if you don't think any of this matters and you're happy to stay on X? Well, good luck dealing with the increasingly controlling Musk regime.

Today's the Day to Delete Your X (Twitter) Account

Passkey Support Finally Comes to LastPass, but There Are a Few Catches If you're still active on X but are considering leaving for one of the many alternatives available, now may be the best time to delete your X account. This is because X's new Terms of Service are coming into effect on November 15, and they include a couple of elements that should be of concern. ✕ Remove Ads X's New Terms of Service Are Coming Into Effect X's new Terms of Service are coming into effect today (November 15, 2024), and there are a couple of points worth taking notice of. The two problematic elements of the new Terms of Service are as follows: Under section 3, which is concerning "content on the services," X formalizes its intention to use everything you post to train its AI model. The direct quote being, "analyze text and other information you provide and to otherwise provide, promote, and improve the Services, including, for example, for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type". If you have been using X for the past few months, you will likely have been helping to train Grok (Elon Musk's AI) unless you followed our advice to opt out of doing so. However, we don't yet know if you'll be able to opt out once the new TOS comes into effect. And if not, that's an issue for anyone who cares about privacy. ✕ Remove Ads Under section 5, and specifically "liquidated damages", X introduces a new threat to fine users who use it too much. The direct quote being, "jointly and severally liable to us for liquidated damages as follows for requesting, viewing, or accessing more than 1,000,000 posts (including reply posts, video posts, image posts, and any other posts) in any 24-hour period - $15,000 USD per 1,000,000 posts". While 1 million posts sounds like a lot, this will impact researchers who currently use automated scraping tools for academic purposes. It also appears to run counter to Elon Musk's desire for freedom of speech at all costs. So, while this is unlikely to affect you, it represents a shift in values. ✕ Remove Ads Now's the Time to Leave X for Somewhere New Maybe you're still happy using X, or even happier now since Elon Musk took over and made the changes he has made. In which case, carry on. However, for anyone who thinks X is no longer the social media platform for them, and is actively looking to move to a new platform, this is the perfect opportunity to jump ship. There are a handful of good X/Twitter alternatives available, and none of them are openly using your posts to train their AI or threatening to fine you for overusing the platform. My personal preference is Threads, but Bluesky and Mastodon are the other front-runners vying to acquire everyone fleeing X. ✕ Remove Ads