Images of undressed women and children shared on Elon Musk's social media platform X are illegal and horrifying, the European Commission said, joining a growing number of world officials condemning the rise in non-consensual images on the site.
The accusations follow Reuters and other reports that X's integrated artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, was generating large numbers of on-demand images featuring women and minors in skimpy clothing, a feature the company previously described as “spicy mode.”
The European Commission said it was “very aware” of X's “spicy mode”, with spokesperson Thomas Renier telling reporters: “This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting. This is our view and this has no place in Europe.”
In the UK, regulator Ofcom on Monday demanded that X explain how Grok was able to produce images of unclothed individuals and sexual images, and whether it was failing in its legal obligations to protect users.
X did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the statement from the European Commission or Ofcom. In an earlier response to Reuters on the matter, X said “legacy media is lying.” Online, Musk appeared to dismiss concerns about Grok's inappropriate content, posting emojis of people laughing so hard they were about to cry in response to celebrities edited to appear in bikinis.
Ofcom said it was aware of the “serious concerns” raised about the feature. “We have urgently contacted X and xAI to understand what steps they are taking to comply with our legal obligations to protect our users in the UK,” a spokesperson said.
In the UK, it is illegal to create or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material, including hyper-realistic sexual content generated by AI. Additionally, technology platforms will be required to take steps to prevent UK users from encountering illegal content and to remove illegal content once they become aware of it.
These statements from EU and UK officials came after French ministers reported X to prosecutors and regulators over the disturbing images, calling it “sexual and sexist” content “clearly illegal”. Indian authorities also asked X to explain the purported obscene material.
Despite growing international scrutiny of Mr. Grok's production of non-consensual images, U.S. federal authorities under the administration of Mr. Musk's ally Donald Trump have yet to address the issue. The Federal Communications Commission did not respond to requests for comment, and the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department did not immediately respond.
