Elon Musk’s X to Be Investigated by the EU Over Grok’s Sexually Explicit Deepfakes

The European Union has launched an investigation into Elon Musk‘s X over the sexually explicit deepfakes that have been generated by its AI chatbot Grok.

The EU probe follows a similar one initiated by the U.K. watchdog Ofcom earlier this month. In the U.K., Musk faces a fine of up to 10% of X’s worldwide revenue or £18 million ($24.5 million), whichever is greater, if found to have breached the law. Malaysia and Indonesia have also blocked access to the Grok AI chatbot over deepfake concerns.

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The new investigation by the EU “will assess whether the company properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok’s functionalities into X in the EU,” the EU said in a release. The body said it will include “risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material.”

“Sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation,” said Henna Virkkunen, executive VP of tech sovereignty, security and democracy. “With this investigation, we will determine whether X has met its legal obligations under the DSA, or whether it treated rights of European citizens — including those of women and children — as collateral damage of its service.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen doubled down in a statement to Agence France-Presse, saying: “In Europe, we will not tolerate unthinkable behavior, such as digital undressing of women and children. It is simple — we will not hand over consent and child protection to tech companies to violate and monetize. The harm caused by illegal images is very real.”

Grok generated an estimated 3 million sexualized images of women and children in a matter of days, according to a recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which was quoted by French newspaper Le Monde.

Musk’s X was previously probed by the EU in December 2023 over its measures against illegal content, including terrorist material, and was fined €120 million. Last September, the European Commission also went after Grok for generating antisemitic content.