In a surprising turn of events, X, the brainchild of the ever-innovative Elon Musk, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced significant changes that are set to redefine the digital landscape. As of September 29, X's terms of service have been updated to address the issue of web scraping and crawling, effectively affecting the operations of AI models that rely on its data.
Getting excited, right? Well, you haven't heard the half of it yet. The revised terms of service expressly exclude scraping or crawling without "prior written consent." The days of freely pulling helpful information from tweets and data are long gone. The earlier version of the terms was noticeably more lenient, allowing crawling as long as it followed the restrictions provided in robots.txt. However, this leniency has been replaced with a requirement for "prior written consent," putting a considerable obstacle in the way of anyone wanting access to the data.
In simple terms, attempting to crawl or scrape the services in any manner and for any purpose without securing prior written consent is expressly forbidden. If you happen to be a tech-savvy robot crawler, you'll need to knock on X's virtual door and formally request permission before engaging in any data-gathering activities.
But that's not the end of the story. X, formerly known as Twitter, has likewise updated its robots.txt file. Traditionally, this digital document serves as a set of instructions for robot crawlers, advising them of the website areas they are permitted to explore. However, this document has undergone significant changes. It now only grants access to Google's crawler bots, thus closing the road for all other bots.
Turning back the clock to 2015, Twitter had what was called a "firehose deal" with Google, allowing the search giant to incorporate tweets into its search results. The specific details of this arrangement have remained shrouded in mystery, much like a secret society's handshake. Whether this cozy partnership has experienced any changes under X's new management remains uncertain.
In terms of recent changes, they not only prevent crawlers from obtaining key data such as likes and retweets linked with specific posts, but they also apply a "no entry" policy for account likes, media, and photographs. It's the same as saying, "Hands off our digital treasure trove!"
However, the narrative doesn't conclude there. In a series of rapid actions, X temporarily suspended the ability of non-logged-in users to view posts. This move resembled a digital fortress closing its gates to deter marauding data thieves. Nevertheless, Elon Musk himself clarified that this was merely a short-term measure, a respite from the relentless "data pillaging" that negatively impacted the platform's regular users.
Elon Musk has consistently positioned himself as the defender of Twitter/X data, fiercely guarding it from AI model predators. He even issued a strong warning in April, threatening to sue Microsoft for allegedly siphoning off data from the social network to train AI models. In an audacious step last July, he filed a lawsuit against many nameless companies, reaffirming his vow to keep the data vault safely guarded.
But wait, there's more! X recently changed its privacy policy, signaling its aim to enter the field of artificial intelligence. The revised policy now indicates that public data may be utilized to train AI models. Musk has openly addressed XAI, a firm founded in July that appears to be planning to use public data, such as tweets, as a training ground for its AI models.
In a surprising twist, X's new privacy policy also delves into the territory of biometric data, education, and job history. It's as if X is casting a wide net to capture all sorts of digital breadcrumbs.
So here we are, watching the winds of change wash across X, ushering in a new era in the digital frontier. The days of unrestricted online scraping and crawling are over, and the future promises a tightly controlled digital universe in which even robots must seek permission to participate. Elon Musk's vision for data security and AI innovation is not without debate, but it is definitely changing the game. Let's keep an eye out for exciting advancements in this altered digital landscape.
Read next: Cracking the Code as X's Mystery Ads Unveiled
Getting excited, right? Well, you haven't heard the half of it yet. The revised terms of service expressly exclude scraping or crawling without "prior written consent." The days of freely pulling helpful information from tweets and data are long gone. The earlier version of the terms was noticeably more lenient, allowing crawling as long as it followed the restrictions provided in robots.txt. However, this leniency has been replaced with a requirement for "prior written consent," putting a considerable obstacle in the way of anyone wanting access to the data.
In simple terms, attempting to crawl or scrape the services in any manner and for any purpose without securing prior written consent is expressly forbidden. If you happen to be a tech-savvy robot crawler, you'll need to knock on X's virtual door and formally request permission before engaging in any data-gathering activities.
But that's not the end of the story. X, formerly known as Twitter, has likewise updated its robots.txt file. Traditionally, this digital document serves as a set of instructions for robot crawlers, advising them of the website areas they are permitted to explore. However, this document has undergone significant changes. It now only grants access to Google's crawler bots, thus closing the road for all other bots.
Turning back the clock to 2015, Twitter had what was called a "firehose deal" with Google, allowing the search giant to incorporate tweets into its search results. The specific details of this arrangement have remained shrouded in mystery, much like a secret society's handshake. Whether this cozy partnership has experienced any changes under X's new management remains uncertain.
In terms of recent changes, they not only prevent crawlers from obtaining key data such as likes and retweets linked with specific posts, but they also apply a "no entry" policy for account likes, media, and photographs. It's the same as saying, "Hands off our digital treasure trove!"
However, the narrative doesn't conclude there. In a series of rapid actions, X temporarily suspended the ability of non-logged-in users to view posts. This move resembled a digital fortress closing its gates to deter marauding data thieves. Nevertheless, Elon Musk himself clarified that this was merely a short-term measure, a respite from the relentless "data pillaging" that negatively impacted the platform's regular users.
Elon Musk has consistently positioned himself as the defender of Twitter/X data, fiercely guarding it from AI model predators. He even issued a strong warning in April, threatening to sue Microsoft for allegedly siphoning off data from the social network to train AI models. In an audacious step last July, he filed a lawsuit against many nameless companies, reaffirming his vow to keep the data vault safely guarded.
But wait, there's more! X recently changed its privacy policy, signaling its aim to enter the field of artificial intelligence. The revised policy now indicates that public data may be utilized to train AI models. Musk has openly addressed XAI, a firm founded in July that appears to be planning to use public data, such as tweets, as a training ground for its AI models.
In a surprising twist, X's new privacy policy also delves into the territory of biometric data, education, and job history. It's as if X is casting a wide net to capture all sorts of digital breadcrumbs.
So here we are, watching the winds of change wash across X, ushering in a new era in the digital frontier. The days of unrestricted online scraping and crawling are over, and the future promises a tightly controlled digital universe in which even robots must seek permission to participate. Elon Musk's vision for data security and AI innovation is not without debate, but it is definitely changing the game. Let's keep an eye out for exciting advancements in this altered digital landscape.
Read next: Cracking the Code as X's Mystery Ads Unveiled
