European Commission opens investigation into Elon Musk’s X

The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Grok, X’s chatbot, after the image-editing function of its built-in AI tool was widely used to virtually undress pictures of real women and underage girls without their consent.

As first reported by Handelsblatt, the probe will look at whether or not the social media platform did enough to mitigate the risk of the images being created and disseminated.

If X is found to have breached EU online platform rules under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission could fine the company up to 6% of its global annual turnover.

Last December, the European Commission fined Elon Musk’s social network €120 million over its account verification tick marks and advertising practices.

The concerns emerged last summer after the platform's built-in AI tool, Grok, was enhanced with a paid feature known as “Spicy Mode”, which allowed users to prompt it to create explicit content.

Elon Musk mocked the ensuing outcry in post on his X account.

Earlier this month, as worldwide outrage at the feature grew, a Commission spokesperson condemned this functionality in the strongest terms.

“This is not 'spicy'," they said. "This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting. This has no place in Europe.”

In response to the public anger and alarm, X eventually implemented measures to prevent Grok from allowing the editing of images of real people to put them in revealing clothing and sexual situations – with restrictions applying to all users, including paid subscribers.

X also said that sexualised Grok-altered images of children had been removed from the platform and that the users involved in creating them had been banned.

“We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary,” the X Safety account posted.

This is not the first time Grok has been under scrutiny for suspected breaches of European law. Last November, the AI chatbot generated Holocaust denial content.

Investigations into the platform’s chatbot are currently ongoing in France, the United Kingdom and Germany, as well as in Australia. Grok has been banned altogether in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Commission said it had sent a request for information under the DSA, and that it is still analysing the response.