A conflict involving the ‘X’ social media platform’s operator and the Data Protection Commission (DPC) over the application of personal data for constructing and training artificial intelligence (AI) mechanisms has been settled in the High Court.
This disagreement focused on the DPC’s apprehensions about X’s handling of personal data from millions of European users and the alleged exploitation of this information for educating any AI systems owned by the respondent.
The court was informed on Wednesday that the case could be dismissed following a permanent promise to the court made by Twitter International Unlimited Company. The pledge is to eliminate and abstain from processing data from EU/EEA users posted on X platform, which was to be exploited for advancing and training the platform’s search service, known as ‘Grok’, between 7th May and the 1st August 2024. This timespan aligns with when the data in question is believed to have been processed.
The commitment was presented on behalf of Twitter International by its counsel Declan McGrath SC to Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds during Wednesday’s hearing. Mr McGrath, who also worked alongside Shelly Horan BL and was directed by A & L Goodbody solicitors, stated the pledge was a substitute for a provisional one that had been earlier offered to the court.
He continued to state that the relevant data has already been eliminated and that the DPC’s lawsuit can be dismissed without any further need for a court order. The closure of the action was applauded by Ms Justice Reynolds. The DPC agreed to the dismissal of the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit initiated last month, the DPC, represented by Remy Farrell SC and David Fennelly BL and guided by Philip Lee Solicitors, demanded orders against Twitter. These included orders to delay, restrict or prevent Twitter from processing X users’ personal data for developing, refining or instructing any machine learning, extensive language or other AI structures operated by Twitter.
The DPC had asserted that this data would be used for the enhanced search mechanism provided to Premium and Premium+ users of the platform under ‘Grok’. The DPC also maintained that the method by which Twitter International processed data to instruct Grok did not adhere to its GDPR duties, the EU regulation that prescribes protocols for respecting individuals’ privacy and securing their data.
Twitter International has been accused of turning down requests by the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) to stop handling the specific personal data, or to delay the release of the next ‘Grok’ version. Consequently, the DPC insisted on the issue’s urgency, stating that legal action was necessary to safeguard data rights and freedoms under GDPR rules. However, these accusations were rebutted as Twitter International declared their compliance with the GDPR at all times. In their preliminary response, Twitter contested the DPC’s vehement orders and further debated that such orders, if enforced, would impede the provision of essential services of their X platform across the EU and EEA. This incident marked the first-instance an application for such orders was presented before the Irish courts under the 2018 Data Protection Act.