The European Union has initiated an investigation into Elon Musk’s X platform following reports that the AI chatbot Grok can produce sexually explicit deepfake images of women and minors. This marks a new chapter in the global pushback against the controversial tool.
Grok has come under fire after it was discovered that users could generate sexualized images of women and children by using simple text prompts like “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, emphasized that such behavior is unacceptable in Europe. “We will not tolerate disturbing conduct such as digital exploitation of women and children,” she stated. “It’s clear — we will not grant consent or allow child protection to be compromised by tech companies willing to profit from such content. The harm caused by these illegal images is very real.”
Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s digital commissioner, explained that the investigation aims to assess whether X has fulfilled its legal duties under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a regulation designed to supervise large online platforms. She added that the rights of women and children within the EU should not be sacrificed as collateral damage for the platform’s services.
Brussels is specifically examining if X has adequately addressed risks associated with the distribution of illegal content on its platform, including manipulated sexually explicit images that could constitute child sexual abuse material.
Research released Thursday by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate indicated that Grok created approximately three million sexualized images of women and children within just a few days.
This investigation expands an ongoing EU review into X, which has been scrutinized since December 2023 under the region’s digital content regulations. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was fined $140 million in December for not fully complying with transparency requirements. The penalty followed issues involving deceptive design aspects related to verified account badges and failure to provide data access for research purposes.
Despite pressure from U.S. authorities, the EU remains committed to enforcing its rules, reflecting ongoing tensions over global tech regulation. This dispute mirrors broader conflicts between the EU and the U.S. on various issues, including Ukraine, trade policies, and Greenland.
