SpaceX has revised the privacy policy governing its Starlink satellite internet service to permit the use of customer data for training artificial intelligence models, a move that could support Elon Musk’s broader AI strategy.
The update comes as SpaceX prepares for a potential blockbuster initial public offering later this year and holds discussions to merge with Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI. The talks, first reported by Reuters on Thursday, involve SpaceX, which is already the world’s most valuable private company and could achieve a valuation exceeding $1 trillion following an IPO.
According to information published on the Starlink website, the company updated its Global Privacy Policy on January 15. The revised policy states that, unless users choose to opt out, Starlink data may be used “to train our machine learning or artificial intelligence models.” It also notes that such data could be shared with the company’s service providers and “third-party collaborators,” without specifying further details.
An archived version of the privacy policy from November, reviewed by Reuters, did not include any language referring to the use of Starlink customer data for AI training.
The updated policy does not clearly define what specific categories of data may be used for artificial intelligence purposes. The change has drawn criticism from privacy advocates and consumer rights groups, who warn that the use of personal data in AI training could increase surveillance risks and create new opportunities for 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 AI company xAI, which was most recently valued at $230 billion following a funding round, is currently developing the Grok large language model chatbot and also owns the social media platform X.
A potential merger between SpaceX and xAI could significantly accelerate the deployment of AI-powered services by the space company, while providing xAI with access to large new data sets for training its models, including communications-related data. Starlink operates a constellation of more than 9,000 satellites and currently provides internet connectivity to over 9 million users worldwide.
