The European Commission is intensifying its investigation into X due to the way in which the AI tool Grok is being used to generate sexualized deepfakes.
This follows a series of recent reports from France, as previously reported by Techzine , which show that Grok generated explicit sexual images involving children. The case has led to criminal proceedings by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office. In addition, French ministers are calling for the regulator ARCOM to be involved under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
According to the Commission, it is fully aware of the issue and is treating it as a matter of the highest priority. Spokesperson Thomas Regnier (link to a video) made it clear on Monday that this is not a harmless experimental feature, but content that is undoubtedly illegal under European law. The Commission considers the generation of sexually explicit images depicting children to be shocking and completely unacceptable within the European Union.
The current issue is not an isolated one. Grok has previously come under fire for generating anti-Semitic content and statements that amount to Holocaust denial. In November, the Commission sent a formal request for information to X, to which the company responded in December, during the Christmas recess.
European Commission previously responded with fines
That response is currently being assessed. According to the Commission, it is clear to X that enforcement of the DSA is not a non-committal exercise. Reference was made to previous fines imposed on X, which, according to the Commission, underscore that violations have consequences.
Pressure on X is also mounting outside France. Regulators in the United Kingdom, India, and Malaysia, among others, have launched investigations into the operation of Grok and the way the platform handles reports of abuse. In some countries, there is even open talk of temporarily blocking X while investigations are ongoing. It is striking that US authorities have so far been more cautious than their European and Asian counterparts.
The core of the criticism focuses on the fact that users can use Grok to digitally manipulate photos of women and children into realistic-looking, sexualized images that then remain publicly visible on X. Although the company claims that these were only isolated cases and that technical shortcomings have since been remedied, it appears that similar images are still being generated and shared even after the public outcry.
This is unacceptable to the European Commission. According to Regnier, Europe expects large online platforms to design their systems in such a way that such abuse is actively prevented rather than dealt with after the fact. The Commission emphasizes that compliance with the Digital Services Act is a strict obligation and that enforcement is taken seriously. With the ongoing investigation into Grok, X appears to have once again placed itself firmly in the crosshairs of European regulators.