The European Union’s investigation into social media platform X has officially concluded after the platform agreed to meet the compliance requirements set by the European Data Protection Commission (DPC).
On Sept. 4, X agreed to cease using personal data from users located in the EU and European Economic Area (EEA). Previously, X used this data to train its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok.
EU data erasure
The court required that Twitter International, the company behind X’s operations, permanently comply with the data collection requests.
X said it would erase previous data from May 7 to Aug. 1 and agreed not to collect any further data for the sake of developing, enhancing or training Grok.
The DPC filed the initial complaint, citing a risk to the “fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.” According to the EU data watchdog, this was the first time it had had to take such action and invoke its powers under Section 134 of the 2018 Data Protection Act.
DPC Commissioner Des Hogan said he “welcomed” the outcome and that it protects the rights of EU and EEA citizens. When the complaint was initially filed, Hogan further commented on the DPC’s role in citizen data protection:
“One of our main roles as an independent regulator and rights-based organization is to ensure the best outcome for data subjects and today’s developments will help us to continue protecting the rights and freedoms of X users across the EU and EEA.”
“This action further demonstrates the DPC’s commitment to taking appropriate action where necessary,” he said.
Prior to accepting the conditions, Twitter International rejected the DPC’s allegations and claimed that it met all of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation requirements. The company even referred to the orders as “draconian” and said they hinder crucial functions of the platform in the region.
However, since X agreed to the measures, the case has been dismissed.
X’s global battles
The case against the DPC is not the only battle X is currently engaged in. On Aug. 30, regulators in Brazil suspended X in the country after Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, refused to name a legal representative for the firm in Brazil.
The Brazilian Supreme Court upheld the order on Sept. 2 in a unanimous decision by five justices.
Musk has hinted to X users in Brazil that they should defy the judge’s ruling against using VPNs to access the platform despite the fines that they could incur.
He has also previously spoken out against Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of being “evil” and a “dictator” for allegedly engaging in “illegal political censorship” on X.
