Elon Musk‘s social media platform X is currently under investigation by the European Union following concerns related to its Grok AI chatbot, which has reportedly generated non-consensual deepfake images. The Irish Data Protection Commission announced this inquiry, which is being conducted under the EU’s stringent data privacy regulations.
The investigation was initiated after Grok faced significant public backlash for enabling users to create images that undressed individuals through its AI image generation and editing capabilities. Reports indicate that some of these images may have involved children, raising serious ethical and legal concerns. Although the company implemented certain restrictions on Grok in response to the outrage, European regulatory authorities expressed dissatisfaction with these measures.
The focus of the investigation is on the creation and dissemination of potentially harmful non-consensual intimate or sexualised images involving personal data from European users, including minors. X has yet to respond to The Associated Press’s request for comment on these developments. Grok, which was developed by Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is publicly accessible on the X platform.
The inquiry will assess whether X has complied with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Given that X’s European headquarters is located in Dublin, the Irish regulator is responsible for enforcing compliance with the EU’s privacy laws, which carry the potential for substantial penalties if violations are identified.
Furthermore, Spain’s government has tasked prosecutors with investigating X, Meta, and TikTok for their roles in the creation and distribution of AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez highlighted the serious implications of these platforms on the mental health and rights of children. Spain has recently announced plans to restrict access to social media for users under 16.
In addition, French prosecutors conducted a raid on X’s Paris offices and have summoned Musk for questioning. Regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom, which has withdrawn from the EU, have also initiated their investigations into the platform. Notably, X is already facing a separate inquiry from Brussels regarding its compliance with the EU’s digital regulations aimed at protecting social media users, which require platforms to mitigate the spread of illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
