Elon Musk's X, the social media giant formerly known as Twitter, is rolling out its new privacy policy, and it's a game-changer in data collection. From Sept. 29, the company is casting a wider net to scoop up even juicier user data.
Key changes in the updated version include clauses about X collecting users’ biometric data as well as information on their employment and educational backgrounds.
It does not specify exactly what it means by “biometric information”—but the term can refer to a range of biological characteristics like facial recognition, fingerprints or voice recognition.
“Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes,” the company says in its incoming privacy policy.
Under the new terms, the company will also be able to store data on users’ personal backgrounds, including where they went to school and their work experience.
“We may collect and use your personal information (such as your employment history, educational history, employment preferences, skills and abilities, job search activity and engagement, and so on) to recommend potential jobs for you, to share with potential employers when you apply for a job, to enable employers to find potential candidates, and to show you more relevant advertising,” the updated policy says.
The updates will add to the user information X already collects, such as location data, payment information and how people interact with advertisements.
A spokesperson for X was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Fortune.
Training A.I. with user data
The firm already used user data for various purposes, including personalizing its services, conducting research and surveys, and “fostering safety and security”—all of those usages will continue to stand under the new privacy policy.
One notable change in the new policy, however, includes plans to use user data to train artificial intelligence systems.
“We may use the information we collect and publicly available information to help train our machine learning or artificial intelligence models for the purposes outlined in this policy,” X says in its incoming privacy policy.
Musk—who bought Twitter for $44 billion last year before rebranding it as X—has previously warned A.I. will hit people “like an asteroid” and insisted there is a chance it will “go Terminator.”
However, he has since launched his own A.I. firm, xAI, in what he says is a bid to “understand the universe” and prevent the extinction of mankind.
“It’s really hard to make everyone happy with a Privacy Policy,” X says in its privacy terms. “You give some data, we get some data. In return we offer useful services.”
It also notes that users are able to access their data, delete it, or change their data settings at any time.
‘Catastrophic’ consequences
While X and its users may see some benefits from the additional data collection, experts warned there were also major privacy concerns associated with ramping up access to user data.
Brad Smith, founder of British digital agency Succeed Digital, told Fortune on Thursday that storing users’ biometric, professional or educational data could have several implications—both positive and negative.
For example, fingerprint or facial recognition could enable more secure and convenient user authentication, while education and job history data could facilitate networking and professional opportunities.
“On the flip side, there are a lot of privacy concerns that come with holding such data,” Smith cautioned. “It is X's responsibility to keep this data safe, but we can never be certain. There's also the question of whether a private company should be allowed to take such risks with users’ data.”
He explained that it was possible for companies or even governments to misuse this information for monitoring purposes without users' consent, while storing education and job histories could inadvertently lead to discriminatory practices.
“Algorithms might use this data to make decisions, potentially reinforcing biases in recruitment and networking,” Smith said.
Jacopo Pantaleoni, former principal engineer and research scientist at Nvidia and author of The Quickest Revolution: An Insider's Guide to Sweeping Technological Change and its Largest Threats, was much more pessimistic about the looming privacy changes at X.
“X's plan to collect biometric data and job and education history sets a dangerous precedent,” he warned. “The danger is twofold. First, if the use of these markers gets broader adoption, it might establish a system where it becomes virtually impossible to remain anonymous on the net, further eroding the very notion of online privacy.”
Pantaleoni drew a parallel to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s plans to scan billions of people’s eyes in exchange for cryptocurrency.
“While these initiatives are being mainly sold as solutions to issues like identity theft and the proliferation of bots, the use of these inescapable identity markers will invariably lead to the development of even more fine-tuned and precise methods of targeted advertisement and tailored news distribution,” he told Fortune.
“And what this means is that it will become even more difficult for users to acquire a neutral perspective of the web, and eventually, the world. The consequences could be catastrophic.”
