The European Union has launched a major inquiry into Elon Musk’s X chatbot, Grok, following widespread uproar over its capacity to generate sexually explicit imagery, including that of children.
The controversy erupted late last year when the AI-powered chatbot produced a flurry of digitally nude visuals of women and minors in response to user prompts.
The global backlash that ensued was initially met by X announcing the tool would be restricted to paying subscribers, but the company ultimately barred all users from employing Grok to create indecent images of real individuals.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, stated in a release on Monday that the investigation will scrutinize whether X is ‘adequately assessing and mitigating the risks associated with the deployment of Grok’s features in the EU’.
Henna Virkkunen, a senior Commission official focused on technology, security, and democracy, remarked in a statement, “The sexual deepfakes of women and children represent a violent, unacceptable form of degradation. Through this probe, we will determine if X has met its legal obligations… or if it views the rights of European citizens—including women and children—as collateral damage to its service.”
When contacted for comment, X referred to a January 14 statement circulated on its social network, which mentioned, among other things: “We are prioritizing action to remove violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual nudity, taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X rules. We also report requests for material concerning the sexual exploitation of children to law enforcement when necessary.”
At a press briefing, another European Commission representative acknowledged the steps X has taken thus far but asserted that the company had not properly evaluated the risks before releasing the chatbot.
‘A change in platform behaviour’
The inquiry was initiated under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which mandates major tech firms to undertake greater efforts against illegal and harmful online content.
There is no set deadline for the investigation’s completion, nor any indication of what actions the European Commission might pursue based on its findings. However, an official speaking anonymously told reporters that the body “has quite a few tools at our disposal,” suggesting that a fine remains a possibility.
In December, the EU imposed a penalty of approximately $140 million on the social network, arguing that the “deceptive design” of the blue verification tick and other features violated the Digital Services Act. Musk at the time labelled this fine “crazy.”
When asked if the fine had been settled, the unnamed EU representative replied that it had not, but the company still has time to comply.
Earlier this month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta also announced an investigation into the “dissemination of non-consensual sexual content generated through Grok.”
Grok is currently banned in both Indonesia and Malaysia due to the image generation scandal. UK regulator Ofcom has also commenced a formal examination of X.
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