The European Commission has initiated a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X over the scandal centering on its Grok AI generating sexualized deepfake images of women and children.
BBC News reports that the EU’s executive body announced the investigation following similar action taken by the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom earlier this month. The probe centers on whether X has violated provisions of the EU’s Digital Services Act in its oversight and management of the Grok AI tool’s image generation capabilities.
Under the Digital Services Act, if the Commission determines that X has breached its obligations, the company could face substantial financial penalties amounting to up to six percent of its global annual revenue. The investigation represents the latest regulatory challenge facing the social media platform under Musk’s ownership.
X’s Safety account previously issued a statement indicating that the platform had implemented measures to prevent Grok from digitally manipulating images of people to remove their clothing in jurisdictions where such content is illegal. However, regulators and lawmakers have expressed concerns about whether these safeguards are sufficient to protect users across the European Union.
Regina Doherty, a member of the European Parliament representing Ireland, explained that the Commission would evaluate whether manipulated sexually explicit images have been displayed to users within the EU. The investigation will examine X’s compliance with legal requirements designed to protect citizens from harmful content.
Campaigners and individuals affected by such deepfakes have stated that the capability to generate sexually explicit pictures using the tool should never have been permitted in the first place. Ofcom confirmed that its separate investigation in the United Kingdom would continue independently of the EU proceedings.
The European regulator indicated it may impose interim measures if X fails to implement meaningful adjustments to address the concerns. Additionally, the Commission announced an expansion of its ongoing investigation that began in December 2023, which examines risks associated with X’s recommendation system — the algorithmic processes that determine which posts are shown to individual users.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the Commission, characterized the sexual deepfakes as 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,” she said.
The investigation into X’s practices is not isolated to the European Union. Similar inquiries into the platform’s chatbot are currently underway in Australia, France, and Germany. Grok faced temporary bans in Indonesia and Malaysia, though Malaysian authorities have since lifted their prohibition.
In a statement to Reuters, Doherty raised “serious questions” about whether platforms such as X are fulfilling their legal obligations “to assess risks properly and to prevent illegal and harmful content from spreading.”
“The European Union has clear rules to protect people online,” she said. “Those rules must mean something in practice, especially when powerful technologies are deployed at scale. No company operating in the EU is above the law.”
The latest investigation comes approximately one month after the EU imposed a $140 million fine on X for not following its censorship laws.
The regulatory actions have sparked a diplomatic response from the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the FCC accused the EU regulator of targeting and censoring American companies.
“The European Commission’s fine isn’t just an attack on X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments,” he said.
Musk amplified these sentiments by reposting Rubio’s remarks with the addition of “absolutely,” signaling his agreement with the characterization of EU regulatory actions as an assault on American technology companies.
Read more at BBC News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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