EU looking into Elon Musk's X after Grok produces deepfake sex images
Probe follows outcry over use of creepy image generation tool
The European Commission has launched an investigation into X amid concerns that its GenAI model Grok offered users the ability to generate sexually explicit imagery, including sexualized images of children.
The executive branch of the EU said it begun the new probe under the Digital Services Act (DSA), introduced to regulate illegal content, disinformation, and other systemic risks on online platforms, and assess whether the company properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities into X in the EU.
Enacted in 2022, the DSA includes powers to prevent the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material.
In a statement, the Commission said risks from Grok appear to have exposed citizens in the EU to serious harm.
"Sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation. With this investigation, we will determine whether X has met its legal obligations under the DSA, or whether it treated rights of European citizens - including those of women and children - as collateral damage of its service," said Henna Virkkunen, Commission executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy.
X referred to a previous statement, telling The Register: "We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content.
The company added: "We take action to remove high-priority 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 accounts seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary."
Officials said that since they began discussions with X over how Grok was implemented, the platform had made changes to the system, including turning off the image-generation tool for users who don't pay subscriptions.
While the Commission recognized X had already taken some measures related to the intimate images, it said its investigation was much broader than the specific incident which hit the headlines earlier this month.
The DSA gives the EU the power to fine digital platforms up to 6 per cent of their total annual worldwide turnover, which in X's case might be $174 million, based on an estimate of $2.9 billion turnover. X, formerly known as Twitter, was taken private in 2022 and no longer has to report figures.
Separately, the EC has extended the proceedings it initiated against X in December 2023 to determine whether the platform assessed and mitigated all systemic risks as set out in the Act. The extension includes the impact of the decision to switch X to Grok-based recommendations.
The Commission has already used the DSA to fine X €120 million for breaching the rules on ad transparency, data access for researchers, and its revamped blue-checkmark system.
The EU has said it would stand firm against American demands to tone down the regulation of US tech giants. Late in 2025, the US Trade Representative, a government body for trade and economic policies, slammed the EU for pursuing policies that restrict, limit, and deter the competitiveness of US tech giants through discriminatory means. ®