EU Launches Formal Investigation into Elon Musk's X Over AI Chatbot Grok Generating Deepfake Pornography

The European Union (EU) on Monday launched a formal investigation against Elon Musk-owned social media platform X. This investigation is reportedly related to the AI chatbot Grok, used on X, being capable of creating sexual deepfake images of women and minors. This step comes amid growing international criticism and concern.

Grok faced intense criticism after it became public that users could sexually transform images of women and children using simple text prompts such as 'put her in a bikini' or 'remove her clothes'. This has raised serious concerns regarding digital safety.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took a strong stance on the matter, stating, "In Europe, we cannot tolerate such unimaginable behavior that digitally humiliates women and children." She further clarified, "This issue is very simple he is not allowed to let tech companies profit from violating fundamental principles of consent and child protection. The damage caused by illegal images is real and serious."

EU's Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen stated that this investigation will clarify whether X has fulfilled its legal obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). According to her, the rights of women and children in the EU should not become a 'side effect' damage of X's services.

Brussels indicated that the investigation is looking into whether X has effectively mitigated the risks associated with the dissemination of illegal content within the EU ext{including material suspected to be manipulated sexual explicit images and child sexual abuse material}.

An investigation published last Thursday by the non-profit monitoring organization Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that Grok had generated an estimated 3 million sexual images related to women and children within a few days. This fact has deepened the EU's concern.

As part of the new investigation, the EU announced it is expanding the scope of its ongoing investigation into X aimed at controlling the spread of illegal content and information manipulation. Elon Musk's social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been under investigation for violating the EU's digital content rules since December 2023.

Previously, in December, Brussels fined X 120 million euros, or approximately 140 million US dollars, for violating DSA transparency obligations. The decision drew sharp reactions from the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The allegations of violation included issues such as the allegedly misleading design of the 'blue checkmark' used for verified accounts and the failure to provide researchers with access to public data.

Despite pressure from Washington, the EU has reiterated its stance on strictly enforcing its regulations. This dispute over technology regulation appears to be intensifying amid ongoing confrontations with the Trump administration on various fronts, ranging from the Ukraine war and trade disputes to issues concerning Greenland.