The creation and distribution of sexualised photos by Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, was the focus of a formal investigation by the European Commission into his social media platform, X.
The investigation focuses on a number of important issues and possible infractions of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Some issues it will be centred on are
Risk Assessment and Mitigation: Before implementing Grok’s image-generation features in the EU, regulators are investigating whether X appropriately assessed and managed systemic risks. The Commission claims that before the tool was released, X neglected to do the necessary ad hoc risk assessment.
Illegal and Dangerous Content: The investigation focusses on the production of non-consensual sexual deepfakes, which include pictures that could be considered child sexual abuse material (CSAM). These outputs have been described as “illegal”, “appalling”, and a “unacceptable form of degradation” by EU officials.
Global Regulatory Backlash: This European investigation comes after interim bans or warnings from a number of other nations, including the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India, where authorities are also looking into possible violations of online safety regulations.
Ongoing Scrutiny of the Platform, X: Even before this most recent Grok scandal, Mr Musk was coming under increasing scrutiny in Europe. For breaking the Digital Services Act’s regulations regarding misleading design, advertising transparency, and data sharing with independent researchers, the platform is facing a number of legal challenges, this being the most recent. The EU penalised X €120 million ($140 million) in December 2025 for transparency violations, particularly with reference to misleading “blue checkmark” badges.
The Potential Penalties: X may be subject to further fines of up to 6% of its yearly global revenue if it is discovered to have violated the DSA.
The investigation is likely to intensify a conflict between the US and Europe on internet content regulation. European Union internet laws have drawn harsh criticism from Mr Musk and his Trump administration friends as an assault on free expression and American businesses.
The European authorities said that X had not adequately addressed the “systemic risks” of incorporating the A.I. chatbot Grok into its service and that the firm was under investigation for potential violations of the Digital Services Act.
Beginning in late December, Grok’s sexually explicit images, including those of children, that minor, flooded the service, sparking outcry from victims and authorities around the globe.
X’s recommender algorithm and its procedures to stop the spread of illegal information are the subject of another inquiry by the European authorities.
Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice president of the European Commission who is in charge of enforcing the Digital Service Act, stated in a statement that “nonconsensual sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation.” “We will ascertain whether X has fulfilled its legal responsibilities under the D.S.A. or whether it treated European citizens’ rights, including those of women and children, as collateral damage of its service.”
In reaction to the global criticism, X recently imposed “technological measures” to stop the chatbot from altering photos of actual individuals into skimpy attire and limited some Grok functions to premium customers. EU officials, however, said that these actions did not address the more general systemic issues with the platform’s security procedures.
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