The common usage of this phrase isn't too inaccurate. Keep in mind what oil does to the environment, not just during spills but even in normal refining!
When oil is refined, it feeds energy consumption, which can have both positive and negative effects. When data is refined, it feeds AI, which can have both positive and negative effects.
When oil spills, it causes toxic damage to the environment. When data spills, it causes damage to society's individuals and the firms that should have kept the data secure.
It's not a perfect analogy, but there are some similarities.
The common usage of this phrase isn't too inaccurate. Keep in mind what oil does to the environment, not just during spills but even in normal refining!