The Daily Star Ireland
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has initiated a formal investigation into the use of personal data by the Grok AI system, developed by xAI and integrated into Elon Musk’s X platform. The inquiry centers on whether personal data from public posts by EU users on X has been lawfully used to train Grok’s large language models (LLMs), which power generative AI tools, including chatbot functionalities on the platform.
The core of the investigation involves assessing whether X’s data handling practices are in line with key General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) principles, specifically around the lawfulness and transparency of processing personal data. The DPC highlighted that while large language models like Grok are typically trained on diverse datasets, this probe will zoom in on content from X that was publicly accessible and controlled by the platform itself.
Grok represents a suite of generative AI models created by xAI to enhance user interaction on X through advanced chatbot capabilities. The DPC’s inquiry aims to clarify whether the platform’s use of EU users’ data for training these models adhered to data protection laws.
The decision to open the investigation was made by the Commissioners for Data Protection, Dr. Des Hogan and Dale Sunderland, and the move has already been formally communicated to X. As scrutiny of AI technologies grows across the EU, this probe signals Ireland’s proactive stance on ensuring tech platforms remain accountable for their data practices under GDPR.
