EU privacy watchdog opens probe into Elon Musk’s X over sexualised AI images

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Europe’s privacy watchdog has opened a “large-scale” inquiry into Elon Musk’s X over AI-generated non-consensual sexual imagery, in the latest sign of how regulators are scrutinising the social media site’s Grok chatbot.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, said late on Monday that it had opened a probe into the creation and publication of “potentially harmful” sexualised images by Grok that contained or involved the processing of EU user data.

The Grok chatbot is integrated into X’s social media feeds, and developed by Musk’s AI start-up xAI, which last year acquired X. Earlier this month, xAI merged with Musk’s rocket maker SpaceX to create a $1.5tn behemoth.

The investigation marks the latest in a number of inquiries by global authorities targeting X after thousands of sexualised deepfakes of women were generated using Grok in early January, prompting a widespread backlash from users, safety experts and politicians.

“The DPC has been engaging with [X] since media reports first emerged a number of weeks ago concerning the alleged ability of X users to prompt the @Grok account on X to generate sexualised images of real people, including children,” Graham Doyle, DPC deputy commissioner, said in a statement on Monday.

He added that the commission “has commenced a large-scale inquiry which will examine [X’s] compliance with some of their fundamental obligations under the GDPR in relation to the matters at hand”.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk has taken a hands-off approach to moderating the Grok chatbot, citing free speech. Last summer, xAI made changes to the chatbot after it praised Hitler and made antisemitic posts on X.

His X offices in Paris were raided by French and European investigators at the beginning of February as part of a wide-ranging investigation into X’s algorithms as well as the spread of AI-generated sexual abuse material. French prosecutors have summoned Musk and Linda Yaccarino, X’s former chief executive, for “voluntary interviews” in Paris in April.

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office also last week announced it was launching a new investigation into X and xAI, saying it had “serious concerns” about Grok’s use of personal data and “its potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content”.

The EU has already opened a formal investigation into xAI for Grok’s spread of sexualised images of women and children under the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which requires big tech platforms to mitigate the spread of illegal and harmful content.

The European probe announced on Monday, however, will assess whether X breached the EU’s flagship GDPR rules, which mandate that companies ensure personal user data is processed only for specific lawful purposes, consider privacy during product development and draw up risk reviews in advance of the launch of high-risk features, for example. 

Following pressure from governments around the world, including threats of fines and bans in the EU, UK and France, X last month implemented “technological measures” to limit Grok from generating certain explicit images. However, the company has insisted that it removes Child Sexual Abuse Material and non-consensual nudity material.

In response to the French raids, X said in a post that the allegations were “baseless” and it “categorically denies any wrongdoing”. It dubbed the raid an “abusive act of law enforcement theatre designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives”, adding that the investigation “distorts French law, circumvents due process, and endangers free speech”.

The latest investigation comes during a turbulent period for X, with dozens of staff departing the company last week, including two co-founders. Musk said in an all-hands meeting on Wednesday that he was restructuring the group after the merger with SpaceX.