WeTransfer hastily adjusted its new terms of service on Tuesday after media reports highlighted controversial provisions. The Dutch company retracted the clause in which it reserved the right to use uploaded files for AI training.
Rapid course change following media attention
The original terms, which were set to take effect at the beginning of next month, granted WeTransfer a "perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license" for all uploaded files. This allowed the company to view files, use them for AI model training, and resell them to commercial parties.
Following the publication of critical reports, WeTransfer removed the explicit reference to AI training within hours. The company now emphasizes that it "has no plans to use content for AI model training" and states that the controversy arose from considerations that ultimately were not implemented.
The revised terms are more generally formulated: users now grant WeTransfer a license to use files "for the operation, development, and improvement of our services." However, these vague wordings continue to raise concerns among legal experts.
Consequences for companies and users
Tech and data lawyer Menno Weij warns that the new wording "covers the same ground" as the original terms. Companies using WeTransfer to share confidential documents, presentations, or other sensitive files may be at risk. This issue fits into a broader trend where tech companies claim user data for AI development. Meta and X recently made similar changes, forcing companies to reconsider their data sharing practices. Legal experts emphasize that users often do not hold copyrights to the files they share, raising doubts about the legal validity of such licenses. Furthermore, there is a lack of a clear opt-out option for users.
Recommendations for organizations
Companies are advised to evaluate their file-sharing policies. Consider alternative services with more transparent terms or invest in your own secure solutions for sensitive documents. WeTransfer remains one of the most popular file-sharing services, with one and a half million files shared daily. Since last year, it has been owned by the Italian tech company Bending Spoons.