xAI’s Acquisition of X: Implications for 40 million African users

Elon Musk’s March 28 acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) by his AI company xAI raises significant concerns for the platform’s 40 million African users,whose data will now fuel the development of AI systems like Grok without explicit consent or compensation.

The transaction places users in Nigeria (10 million),South Africa (8 million),and Morocco (21.2 million) at the center of an ethical dilemma. “Your tweets,photos,messages… become the fuel for Musk’s AI models. No opt-in,no compensation,” warns Stéphane Madrange,CEO of Médiane Système.

This unrestricted data harvesting occurs within Africa’s fragmented regulatory landscape,where only 37 of 54 countries have comprehensive data protection legislation. Local regulators often lack technical and financial resources to enforce existing rules,creating a vulnerability that would trigger sanctions under European GDPR standards.

X remains critical for African activism and information sharing,having facilitated movements like Nigeria’s #EndSARS and South Africa’s #FeesMustFall. According to the 2024 Reuters Institute Digital Report,trust in social media information exceeds 50% across much of Africa,though Morocco shows greater skepticism at 31%.

While Musk envisions transforming X into a universal AI-integrated application with potential benefits like local language translation and content personalization,this evolution risks widening the digital divide. With only 35% of Africans using social networks,and rural penetration as low as 25-30% in Central Africa,advanced AI features may primarily benefit urban elites.

The acquisition also threatens to reinforce algorithmic bias against content in Swahili,Hausa,and other African languages,which are underrepresented in training datasets. Premium+ subscribers—less than 1% of African users—will receive preferential access to new AI capabilities,creating a two-tier user experience.

Three scenarios emerge for African users: unchecked data exploitation,marginalization of local creators,or potential regulatory pushback. Morocco has already announced plans for comprehensive AI legislation,potentially leading regional efforts to secure digital sovereignty against what critics describe as a new form of data colonialism.