The European Union on Monday opened an investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X over its AI chatbot Grok, following allegations that the tool generated sexualised deepfake images of women and minors, marking the latest escalation in international scrutiny of the platform.
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The move comes after reports revealed that Grok could be prompted to manipulate images using simple text commands such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes,” triggering widespread concern over digital abuse.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would not tolerate such practices. “In Europe, we will not accept unthinkable behaviour, such as digital undressing of women and children,” she said, adding that consent and child protection would not be surrendered to technology companies for profit.
EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the investigation would assess whether X has complied with its legal obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which governs large online platforms. She stressed that the rights of women and children must not become “collateral damage” of digital services.
Brussels said it is examining whether X adequately mitigated risks linked to illegal content, including manipulated sexually explicit material that could amount to child sexual abuse content.
The probe follows research published by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which estimated that Grok generated around three million sexualised images of women and children within days.
As part of the action, the EU is expanding an existing investigation into X that began in December 2023, focusing on the spread of illegal content and information manipulation. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was fined €120 million in December for breaching transparency requirements under the DSA, including issues related to its verification system and access to public data for researchers.
Despite criticism from Washington, including backlash from the administration of US President Donald Trump, the EU has reiterated that it will continue enforcing its digital regulations.
The dispute over tech oversight comes amid broader tensions between Brussels and Washington on issues ranging from trade to geopolitics.
