A quiet policy change by SpaceX has brought data privacy and artificial intelligence into sharp focus, as the company moves closer to major strategic and financial milestones.
SpaceX has revised Starlink’s privacy policy to allow the use of customer data for training artificial intelligence models, a move that could support Elon Musk’s expanding AI ambitions. The update comes as SpaceX prepares for a blockbuster IPO expected later this year and holds discussions to merge with Musk’s AI venture, xAI, according to a report by a news agency.
SpaceX, already the world’s most valuable private company, could be valued at more than $1 trillion following the IPO. Talks around a possible merger with xAI were first reported on Thursday.
Starlink updated its Global Privacy Policy on January 15, as seen on its website. The revised policy states that unless users opt out, their data may be used “to train our machine learning or artificial intelligence models.” It also notes that such data may be shared with service providers and “third-party collaborators,” without specifying further details.
An archived version of the policy from November, reviewed by a news agency, did not include any reference to using Starlink data for AI training.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
Starlink collects a wide range of user data, including location details, credit card information, contact information, and IP addresses. It also gathers communication data such as audio and visual information, shared files, and “inferences we may make from other personal information we collect,” according to the policy.
The updated policy does not clearly explain which specific data sets will be used for AI training. This lack of clarity has raised concerns among privacy advocates and consumer rights groups, who warn that using personal data for AI development could increase surveillance risks and potential misuse.
“It certainly raises my eyebrow and would make me concerned if I was a Starlink user,” said Anupam Chander, a technology law professor at Georgetown University. “Often there’s perfectly legitimate uses of your data, but it doesn’t have a clear limit to what kind of uses it will be put to.”
Musk’s xAI, recently valued at $230 billion after a funding round, is developing the Grok large language model chatbot and also owns the social media platform X. A merger with SpaceX could accelerate AI-powered services while giving xAI access to large new data sets. Starlink operates a network of more than 9,000 satellites and serves over 9 million users worldwide.
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