X, formerly Twitter, to collect biometric and job information of users

The changes are part of its new privacy policy

X will collect biometric information as well as employment and educational details of its users, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter has said in a recent change to its privacy policy.

In its privacy segment, the company said: “Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes.”

The policy updates also mention that the company may collect and use personal information (such as employment history, educational history, employment preferences, skills and abilities, job search activity and engagement) to recommend potential jobs to a user; to share with potential employers when a user applies for a job; to enable employers to find potential candidates; and to show users more relevant advertising.

The news, first reported by Bloomberg, mentions that a representative of X confirmed the development. Business Standard verified the additions, which are part of the privacy policy on the company’s website.

The company, however, does not define what it means by biometric information and neither does it say how it will collect it. It is also not clear when the new changes will come into effect. The earlier policy is applicable till September 29.

As far as collecting job data is concerned, X owner Elon Musk appears all set to launch a professional networking platform to compete with LinkedIn.

A few days back, Musk posted on X: “People send me LinkedIn links sometimes, but the cringe level is so high that I just can’t bring myself to use it, so I ask for the resume or bio to be emailed. We will make sure that the X competitor to LinkedIn is cool.”

This is also part of Musk’s efforts to create a “super-app”.

From an Indian context, these changes are of significance, but not entirely new.

In June this year, LinkedIn and Meta announced ID verification using government-issued IDs. These may include Aadhaar, too, which is a biometric-based identity system.

Asked what has been the response to the verification programme in India, Ashutosh Gupta, India country manager, LinkedIn, said in an email response: “ID verification is an important tool for members to signal the authenticity of their profiles and navigate LinkedIn with confidence and trust. We have seen a significant uptick in the number of verified profiles on LinkedIn since the launch in June 2023. This feature is available for LinkedIn members in the US, Canada and India and we will be rolling out ID verification to other regions soon.”

During the June launch, LinkedIn had said that its intention was to improve safety, trust and authenticity on the platform. It is doing so with a third-party identity verification performed by HyperVerge that leverages DigiLocker, a government digitisation service.

Similarly in early June, Meta announced Meta Verified — a subscription bundle on Instagram and Facebook that includes a verified badge, which authenticates user accounts with government ID, proactive account protection and access to account support.

An email sent to Meta on the verification process did not elicit any response. But the government ID-based verification hasn’t gone down well.

Public policy experts have emphasised that the social media network must clearly define the purpose of collecting personal information of users. The recently enacted Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act mandates every platform to obtain clear, unconditional, free, specific, and informed consent from users for collecting their data.

“One of the key principles of data protection is purpose limitation. At this point, it is not clear why X needs employment related information and biometric data,” said Kamesh Shekar, programme manager, data governance & privacy, at The Dialogue, a think tank.

“If at all they are able to legitimise the purpose for collection, it will be justified. Secondly, according to the DPDP Act, any personal data must be collected only in accordance with the notice specifications mentioned,” he added. The law requires every platform to disclose the personal data already held by them.

“Though the law has not yet been implemented, companies will have to follow the notice requirements specified in the bill as soon as it comes to effect. Also, they have to give a little more information on how they are storing this information, the mechanisms to address security concerns, and the way to opt out of consent,” Shekhar said.

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-The platform may collect personal information to recommend relevant jobs

- Says it will seek consent to collect and use biometric info

- Changes are also part of Musk’s effort to create a ‘super-app’ in competition with LinkedIn
- In India, LinkedIn and Meta had previously rolled out government ID-based account verification