EU opens formal investigation into X and Grok over deepfake content generation
The European Commission opened a formal investigation into X and its owner Elon Musk over the Grok AI chatbot's capability to generate and distribute illegal deepfake content, including sexually explicit images of minors, across the EU. The Commission alleges X failed to conduct risk assessments before deploying Grok and did not take steps to mitigate harms, violating the Digital Services Act.
What happened
The European Commission initiated a formal investigation against X platform and its owner Elon Musk for alleged violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission alleged that X failed to conduct a risk assessment before introducing Grok, a new artificial intelligence chatbot function introduced from 2024.
The Commission stated that Grok enabled the generation and distribution of illegal content within the EU, including manipulated sexually explicit images depicting minors. The new Grok function was not included in any risk assessment reports submitted by the company, according to EU digital spokesperson Thomas Regnier.
Reported impact
The Commission investigated whether X's introduction of Grok took into account the fact that users could encounter content depicting sexual violence and child exploitation, which could cause negative effects on user health.
Polish Vice Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski stated that Grok generates millions of sexualized images of women and men, characterizing this as a real threat rather than an algorithmic error.
Index analysis
The investigation focused on X's compliance with DSA requirements for risk assessment and mitigation. The Commission found that placing Grok behind a paid subscription was insufficient to address the risks, stating that access to child sexual abuse material is not a premium privilege in Europe.
Governance controls
The Polish government requested the European Commission open the formal investigation into Grok. Vice Prime Minister Gawkowski emphasized that platforms have obligations under the DSA that apply to all companies, including Silicon Valley giants, and that user security is not subject to negotiation or lobbying.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.