EU opens probe into Musk’s X over Grok AI and potential child safety violations

The European Union has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X over concerns that its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot may have generated deepfake images that “may amount to child sexual abuse material.”

The European Commission said the probe will assess whether X complied with its obligations under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to properly identify, assess and mitigate risks associated with deploying Grok across the EU’s 27 member states.

The investigation adds to mounting scrutiny of X’s content moderation practices and could further inflame tensions between Brussels and Washington.

Focus on risk assessment and mitigation

According to the Commission, the investigation will examine whether X adequately addressed systemic risks linked to Grok’s rollout, particularly the risk of generating non-consensual sexual deepfakes involving women and children.

The case falls under the DSA, the EU’s sweeping online content rulebook that imposes strict requirements on large platforms to prevent the spread of illegal and harmful material.

“Non-consensual sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation,” said EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen.

The Commission said the investigation will not involve interim measures at this stage.

Under the Digital Services Act, which took effect in 2023, the EU has the power to impose fines of up to 6% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover for failures to tackle illegal content, mitigate systemic risks or comply with transparency requirements.

Growing international backlash over Grok

The EU investigation follows escalating global condemnation of Grok in recent weeks.

Users in multiple countries have reported that the AI chatbot generated sexualised imagery and posted it to X, triggering backlash from regulators and child safety advocates.

In the United Kingdom, communications regulator Ofcom is already formally investigating whether X breached the country’s Online Safety Act in relation to Grok’s outputs.

Authorities in France and India have also raised concerns, accusing the chatbot of illegally creating sexualised images of individuals without their consent.

X, which is a subsidiary of Musk’s AI company xAI, has previously said that it removes illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, suspends offending accounts and cooperates with law enforcement when necessary.

Tensions with Washington loom

The Grok probe comes shortly after the EU imposed a separate €120 million ($142 million) penalty on X under the DSA.

In that earlier case, EU regulators concluded that X’s paid blue checkmark system misled users, that the platform failed to provide adequate data access to researchers, and that it did not properly establish an advertising transparency repository.

That fine drew sharp criticism from the Trump administration, which has framed EU digital regulation as an attack on free speech and American technology companies.

Ahead of the December penalty, US Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that “the EU should be supporting free speech, not attacking American companies over garbage.”

European officials, however, have consistently rejected those claims, arguing that the DSA is designed to protect users’ rights and safety rather than restrict lawful expression.