EU launches probe into Musk’s X over Grok’s sexual deepfakes
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The European Commission has opened an investigation into social media platform X, following the dissemination of non-consensual sexualised deepfake images generated by the AI tool Grok in recent weeks, which it said may amount to “child sexual abuse material”.
The context: In a release published Monday, the Commission said the investigation, launched under the Digital Services Act will assess whether X properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities into X in the EU.
This includes risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as “manipulated sexually explicit images” including some that “may amount to child sexual abuse material.”
The Commission added: “these risks seem to have materialised, exposing EU citizens to serious harm.”
The Commission said it may impose interim measures should X fail to make meaningful adjustments to the service while the investigation is carried out.
Separately, Commission said it has extended its ongoing investigation into X’s compliance with its recommender systems risk management obligations launched in December 2023.
The Australian government took action over reports of sexualised deepfakes generated by Grok earlier in January, with the Office of the eSafety Commissioner investigating the complaints and establishing contact with X directly. UK watchdog Ofcom also opened a formal investigation into the platform over the imagery.
What they said: Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said: “Sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation. 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.”
The source: European Commission
