Terms changes permit X to sell user data to third parties

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has revised its general terms and conditions (T&Cs) so that they now also allow customer data to be passed on to third parties. This means that X can sell user data to companies, which in turn can use it for their own purposes - for example to train their AI models.

These T&Cs changes will come into force on November 15, 2024 and will initially be activated by default for all users. The new privacy policy states:

"If you do not opt out, recipients of the information may in some cases use it for their own independent purposes, including, for example, to train their artificial intelligence models, in addition to the purposes specified in X's Privacy Policy."

X has been criticized for some time regarding its handling of user data. In 2023, the company, which is now owned by Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk, was reprimanded by the EU Commission for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). The case concerned illegal micro-targeting for political advertising. The latest changes to the terms and conditions are likely to further fuel the debate on the protection of user data.

Opt-out option available, but not by default

Users have the option to object to their data being passed on. However, this must be done actively, which in turn presupposes that X users are aware that their data is being passed on in the first place. Although there are still a few days left until October 15, X has not yet revealed where the opt-out option will be available.

New penalties for external data collectors

Along with changes to the data protection policy, X is also implementing stricter measures against external data collectors. The new T&Cs impose severe fines for the use of automated tools that extract masses of data from the social media platform. If an account is caught viewing 1 million posts within 24 hours, it will be fined 15,000 US dollars - and the same amount for each additional million.