Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Social media platform X has quietly updated its developer agreement to prohibit the use of user-generated content for training artificial intelligence (AI) models.
According to Tech in Asia, the updated clause added under the “Reverse Engineering and Other Restrictions” section. the revision on its developer agreement signaling a strategic move from X to protect its information assets amid rising competition in the AI space.
The new restrictions, reported by The Verge on Friday (June 6) and first spotted by TechCrunch, effectively blocking AI developers from using X data, apply to both its API and on-platform content such as posts and tweets to refine foundational or early-stage AI models.
The policy change could pave the way for X to pursue exclusive data licensing agreements with third-party AI firms, positioning its vast content pool as a monetizable asset.
However, despite the new rule, the platform’s privacy policy still allows third-party “collaborators” to train AI on X’s data unless users explicitly opt out.
X’s role in the AI race has expanded since its acquisition by Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, for a reported $33 billion on paper in March 2025. The platform now feeds user data into its in-house AI model, Grok, for training and development.
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The social media move to block AI developers from using its content aligns with a broader trend among digital platforms seeking to safeguard their data from rivals.
The restriction mirrors similar actions taken by Reddit, which has implemented policies to block AI crawlers, an automated tools commonly used by developers to extract large volumes of information from the web.
These policy shifts signal a changing mindset in the tech industry, where platform-generated data is increasingly viewed not as a public resource, but as proprietary intellectual property. As companies double down on their own AI ventures, the value of exclusive, high-quality datasets has surged.
Firms controlling vast user-generated content now see that data as a critical asset, one that provides a competitive edge in the race to train more capable and efficient AI models. In response, many are tightening access to ensure they retain strategic control over what has become a cornerstone of modern AI development.
(Raidi/Agung)
