As of September 29, 2023, X, previously named Twitter, will require biometric and additional demographic data from premium users, depending on content. According to the platform, which has undergone significant changes since its acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk, the new policy measures aim to deliver improved verification, make recommendations to potential employers, and better personalize advertisements. Users will receive requests for facial images, fingerprints, and iris patterns in addition to education and employment history. Also, as of last week, X Hiring was launched to provide select entities with early access to user data. Cornell University professor and expert on data privacy informs that the company is merely providing legitimacy to a practice that is already ubiquitous among other social media companies. 

Why does it matter?

The updates come on the heels of a lawsuit filed in July against the company, claiming that X has repeatedly collected biometric information on users without consent. These new measures not only place X in competition with other platforms like LinkedIn, but it means that X now holds data on users that may far outstrip the data collected by their governments.