NOYB files complaint against X over AI data use
The group, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, aimed to pressure Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) to intervene.
An Austrian advocacy group, NOYB, has filed a complaint against the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, accusing the company of using users’ data to train its AI systems without their consent. The complaint, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, was lodged with authorities in nine European Union countries, pressuring Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), the primary EU regulator for major US tech firms because their EU operations are based in Ireland.
The Irish DPC seeks to limit or suspend X’s ability to process user data for AI training. X has agreed to halt the use of personal data for AI training until users can opt-out, following a recent Irish court hearing that found X had begun data collection before allowing users to object.
Despite this fact, NOYB’s complaint primarily focuses on X’s lack of cooperation and the inadequacy of its mitigation measures rather than questioning the legality of the data processing itself. Schrems emphasised the need for X to fully comply with the EU law by obtaining user consent before using their data. X has yet to respond to the latest complaint but intends to work with the DPC on AI-related issues.
In a related case, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, delayed the launch of its AI assistant in Europe after the Irish DPC advised against it, following similar complaints from NOYB regarding using personal data for AI training.
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