Irish Data Protection Commission Sues Twitter Over Data Violations

An irish regulator has initiated legal action against Twitter International Unlimited Company, citing violations of EU data protection laws.

According to RTE, the lawsuit involves data collection practices on the “X” social media platform and the “Grok” AI model from xAI. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) took this step after X, previously known as Twitter, failed to halt data collection from EU users despite repeated requests.

The DPC had been hopeful that X would respond to their inquiries, even as recently as July 25, when they expected a reply within a week. However, no satisfactory response was received.

Elon Musk, who owns both X and xAI, has promoted the integration between these entities. Access to xAI’s Grok AI model requires a subscription to X, and data from X users is utilized to train Grok and other products.

Although users can opt out, the DPC alleges that data was used before this option was provided and that the issue has not been fully resolved.

The court has accepted the case, but future proceedings are uncertain. The judge has allowed expedited notice for injunction proceedings, though it is unclear how this will affect X or xAI users in the EU.