X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is under investigation by the European Commission over sexualised deepfake images created by its AI chatbot, Grok. The probe focuses on whether X did enough to prevent harm linked to Grok’s image-generation tools in the European Union.
The Commission said it will check if X “properly assessed and mitigated risks” connected to Grok’s ability to create and edit images. The issue first came to light in reporting by The New York Times.
Concerns grew after users discovered that Grok could be prompted to generate sexualised images of women and even minors. Advocacy groups and lawmakers from several countries have also raised concerns about Grok’s AI image editing feature.
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After the backlash, X made a change. It restricted the ability to edit images using Grok in public replies by putting that feature behind a paywall. However, users can still generate images through Grok’s chatbot inside the platform, which means the tool remains widely available.
The investigation is being carried out under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). This law is designed to make large online platforms legally responsible for how they handle content. The new probe is not starting from scratch. It expands a broader investigation that began in 2023 into X’s practices. The EU already fined X $140 million over what it called “deceptive” blue checkmarks.
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“Sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation,” Henna Virkkunen, the EU Commission’s executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, said in the press release. “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.”
If the Commission finds that X broke the rules again, the consequences could be serious. Under the DSA, the company could be fined up to 6 percent of its annual global revenue.
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