Tech mogul Elon Musk's social media platform X is under scrutiny by the European Union over its AI tool Grok. Concerned officials state the technology may have been used to generate sexualised images of real people in the European Union.
Grok, an AI tool deployed by X since 2024, allows users to generate text and images, providing contextual assistance to posts.
The investigation will examine whether X properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with deploying Grok’s functionalities in the EU. This includes the spread of illegal content, such as sexually explicit images and material that may constitute child sexual abuse content, which the Commission says has exposed EU citizens to serious harm.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, described the sexual deepfakes as a “violent, unacceptable form of degradation.”
Separately, the Commission has extended its December 2023 investigation into X’s recommender systems, which guide the content shown to users, and the company’s compliance with Digital Services Act obligations.
The Digital Services Act (DSA) is an EU law designed to regulate online platforms, ensuring they take responsibility for illegal content, systemic risks, and the protection of users’ fundamental rights. It imposes strict obligations on large platforms like X, requiring provide transparency, and cooperate with regulators across the European Union.
“With this investigation, we will determine whether X has met its legal obligations under the DSA, or whether it treated the rights of European citizens, including those of women and children, as collateral damage of its service,” Virkkunen noted.
The extension seeks to assess whether X’s switch to a Grok-based recommendation algorithm has been accompanied by proper risk assessments.
If the Commission finds breaches of the DSA, X could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual turnover, which is likely to be in the ballpark of $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion in 2025–2026, according to Investing's calculations. It would suggest a potential penalty on the order of roughly $130 million to $150 million.
Regina Doherty, Irish member of the European Parliament, said, “There are serious questions over whether platforms such as X are meeting legal obligations to assess risks properly and prevent illegal and harmful content from spreading."
"The EU has clear rules to protect people online — no company operating in the EU is above the law,” Doherty stated.
The European Commission has said the investigation will be conducted as a priority.
Individuals negatively affected by AI-generated illegal content are advised to seek support at the national level and may lodge complaints with the Digital Services Coordinator in their member state.
The investigation follows multiple regulatory actions against X, including a $142 million fine in December 2025 over the platform’s “blue tick” verification system, which the Commission said misled users.
National authorities, including Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán, are supporting the investigation. The Commission may conduct interviews, request information, or impose interim measures if X fails to implement meaningful adjustments.
X has previously stated that Grok no longer digitally alters images to remove clothing in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.
Nonetheless, the platform has faced similar investigations in Australia, France and Germany, and Grok was temporarily banned in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Campaigners and victims have voiced alarm at the potential for AI-generated sexual content to cause harm, emphasising that the ability to create such images “should never have happened.”
Elon Musk posted an image on X on Monday seemingly mocking the new restrictions, and has publicly criticised regulators, particularly in the UK, calling scrutiny of the image-editing function “any excuse for censorship.”
In the United States, Senator Marco Rubio and the FCC condemned the EU’s approach, claiming the fine was “an attack on all American tech platforms.”
Musk reposted Rubio’s statement with the comment “absolutely.”
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