• X updated its Privacy Policy to allow third-party collaborators to use user data for training AI models unless users opt out, effective November 15.
  • X added a “Liquidated Damages” clause, charging $15,000 for scraping more than 1 million posts within 24 hours.

On Wednesday, social media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced an update to its Privacy Policy, which will allow third-party collaborators to access and use X user data for training their AI models unless users opt-out. Previously, X owner Elon Musk used user data to train xAI’s Grok AI chatbot, triggering an investigation by the EU’s lead privacy regulator. However, the policy did not yet indicate that third parties could also use this data.

The policy update suggests that X is following in the footsteps of Reddit and other media organizations by exploring data licensing to AI companies as a new revenue stream. In the revised Privacy Policy under “Sharing Information,” X elaborates on how users can opt out of data-sharing and how their data may be utilized.

“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 instances the recipients of the information may use it for their own independent purposes in addition to those stated in X’s Privacy Policy, including, for example, to train their artificial intelligence models, whether generative or otherwise.”

However, the policy does not yet specify where users can toggle off data-sharing. The update is expected to take effect on November 15, at which point opt-out options might be added.

Additionally, X has modified how it retains user data and added a new “Liquidated Damages” clause to its Terms of Service, stating that organizations scraping more than 1 million posts within a 24-hour period will be charged $15,000 per million posts.

These changes come as X seeks alternative revenue sources following advertiser withdrawals and slow subscription growth.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah