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Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has announced significant changes to its terms of service, effective November 15, allowing the platform to use user-generated content to train its artificial intelligence models. This broad license includes personal content such as tweets, photos, and videos, which X will use in its machine learning and AI model training.
Under the new terms, X gains a "worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license" to utilize content shared on its platform for purposes such as AI development. This sweeping access has raised concerns, especially among artists and creatives who fear their work could be used to build AI systems that might eventually compete with or replace human creators. Others worry about the privacy implications of personal data being used in AI training.
Some users on X have started deleting photos and sensitive content, concerned about potential misuse. Before the update, users could opt out of AI data sharing via privacy settings, but the new terms suggest that opting out may no longer be possible. If users continue to use the platform after November 15, they effectively accept these updated terms.
Additionally, all disputes related to these terms will be handled in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, over 100 miles from X's Austin headquarters. This legal stipulation has drawn attention, as some view it as a move to favor outcomes in a more conservative jurisdiction, where X's owner, Elon Musk, has ongoing legal disputes.
The new terms underscore X's commitment to AI integration, a trend seen across tech giants like Google and Microsoft, which have faced their own controversies in AI. As AI-powered systems become more prevalent, X's approach highlights the increasingly blurred boundaries between personal data and corporate innovation, setting a precedent for how user-generated content may fuel future.
Under the new terms, X gains a "worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license" to utilize content shared on its platform for purposes such as AI development. This sweeping access has raised concerns, especially among artists and creatives who fear their work could be used to build AI systems that might eventually compete with or replace human creators. Others worry about the privacy implications of personal data being used in AI training.
Some users on X have started deleting photos and sensitive content, concerned about potential misuse. Before the update, users could opt out of AI data sharing via privacy settings, but the new terms suggest that opting out may no longer be possible. If users continue to use the platform after November 15, they effectively accept these updated terms.
Additionally, all disputes related to these terms will be handled in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, over 100 miles from X's Austin headquarters. This legal stipulation has drawn attention, as some view it as a move to favor outcomes in a more conservative jurisdiction, where X's owner, Elon Musk, has ongoing legal disputes.
The new terms underscore X's commitment to AI integration, a trend seen across tech giants like Google and Microsoft, which have faced their own controversies in AI. As AI-powered systems become more prevalent, X's approach highlights the increasingly blurred boundaries between personal data and corporate innovation, setting a precedent for how user-generated content may fuel future.
