The policy, which takes effect Sept. 29, follows intense scrutiny over Twitter's lack of account authentication and fraud on the platform.
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Elon Musk’s X Corp., the company formerly known as Twitter, released an updated privacy policy stating that it will start seeking user consent to collect biometric data for “safety, security and identification purposes.”
The policy, which takes effect Sept. 29, follows intense scrutiny over X’s lack of account authentication and rampant fraud across the platform.
An X spokesperson told Bloomberg, which first reported the news, that the biometric policies are for premium users and that a biometric matching process “will also help X fight impersonation attempts and make the platform more secure.”
However, the move to offer users the chance to provide government IDs for identity matching or verification using biometric data creates a number of risks in itself, critics say.
“This kind of data collection is becoming more common on platforms and most people aren’t aware of the way it affects their privacy and free expression rights,” says Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital justice and civil rights at the nonprofit Free Press. “In particular, one of my concerns is that Musk has a tendency to comply with requests for information from authoritarian regimes, even more than his predecessors. I can imagine a likely scenario where personal and permanent information about us that this platform is collecting is given to some regime that seeks it.”
Biometric data, which can include information like face scans and eye scans, is considered incredibly sensitive because, unlike a password or Social Security Number, it is permanent. That permanence means that misuse can have life-lasting effects on an individual.
“This policy currently is quite vague,” says Benavidez. “We don’t know what biometric data means. It could mean eye scans or other kinds of permanent personal tendencies.” She also noted concerns about the potential discriminatory impact of biometric matching technologies, which have historically had much higher false positives for people of color.
CyberScoop has reached out to X for comment.
Despite a lack of federal protections for biometric data, its collection has resulted in a history of legal trouble for major tech companies. Both Google and Meta have also incurred significant damages in the state of Illinois over their biometric collection practices.
Last month, X was named in a proposed class action lawsuit claiming the company violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act by not providing individuals with adequate notice that it was collecting biometric data. Tesla, where Musk is also CEO, was also hit with a biometric privacy lawsuit in Illinois last year.
Benavidez said that Musk’s policy changes at X have had a “domino effect” on other platforms and expressed concern that the company’s move into biometrics could inspire other companies to follow suit. “I’m worried that in this landscape of many gaps in privacy policy protections around the globe — and especially in the U.S. — if other companies start gathering more biometric data, we’re really going to be in the wild West.”
The updated X privacy policy also notes that the company “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)” for job recommendation services and advertising.
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Source: CyberScoop
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