X is updating its privacy policy with new language that allows users to provide their data to third-party “collaborators” to train AI models. The new policy, which goes into effect on November 15, 2024, appears to open the door to Reddit-like arrangements where outside companies can pay to license data from X.
The updated policy shared by X includes a new section titled “Third Party Collaborators.”
Depending on your settings or if you decide to share your data, we may share or disclose your information with third parties. If you do not opt-out, in some cases the recipient of the information may use the information for their own independent purposes other than those described in X’s Privacy Policy. This includes purposes such as training artificial intelligence models, whether generative or not.
Although the policy mentions an opt-out feature, it’s not clear how users actually opt out. As TechCrunch points out, the policy points to a user’s settings menu, but there doesn’t seem to be any control to opt out of data sharing. However, the policy does not take effect until next month, so it is still subject to change. X did not respond to requests for comment.
If X starts licensing its data to other companies, it could create a big new revenue stream for social media companies that are losing interest from big advertisers.
In addition to its privacy policy, X has also updated its terms of service, increasing penalties for entities found to be “scraping” large numbers of tweets. In a section titled “Damages,” the company says anyone who views or accesses more than 1 million posts in a day will be subject to a $15,000 fine.
Protecting your data and system resources is important to us. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree, in addition to all other legal remedies available to us, if you violate, or induce or encourage others to violate, these Terms. You also agree that you will be jointly and severally liable to us. If you request, view, or access more than 1,000,000 posts (including reply posts, video posts, image posts, and other posts) within a 24-hour period, you will be charged damages as follows: USD 15,000 per 1,000,000 posts.
X owner Elon Musk has previously slammed “scraping”. Last year, the company temporarily blocked users from viewing their tweets while logged out, a move Musk thought was to fend off scrapers. He also moved X’s API behind a paywall, which significantly hampered researchers’ ability to study what was happening on the platform. He has also used allegations of “scraping” to justify lawsuits against organizations that sought to research hate speech and other issues on the platform.
