Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has updated its Privacy Policy to allow third-party "collaborators" to train their AI models on X user data, unless users opt out. This move aligns with similar actions by Reddit and various media organizations, who are exploring data licensing as a new revenue stream.

While X owner Elon Musk trained xAI's Grok AI chatbot on X user data, leading to an investigation by the EU's privacy regulator, the company had not previously amended its policy to indicate that its data could be used by third parties.

The updated policy states that X may share or disclose user information with third parties, who may use it for their own independent purposes, including training AI models. Users can opt out of this data sharing, but the specific settings for doing so are not yet clearly indicated in the policy.

In addition to the data-sharing provision, X has removed a paragraph that stated it keeps user profile information and content for a duration of 18 months. The new policy specifies that different types of information will be retained for varying periods based on specific needs.

The company has also added a note reminding users that public content can exist elsewhere even after it's removed from X, potentially allowing for data ingestion by AI providers.

Furthermore, X has updated its Terms of Service to include liquidated damages for organizations scraping its content excessively. Any organization requesting, viewing, or accessing more than 1 million posts in a 24-hour period will be charged $15,000 per 1 million posts.

These changes reflect X's efforts to monetize its data amidst advertiser withdrawals and a struggling subscription feature. The company is facing financial pressures and is exploring new ways to generate revenue.