X is facing growing criticism from overseas watchdogs over its generative AI chatbot Grok.
The Irish Data Protection Commission said on Tuesday: The company announced it has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter.
The commission said in a press release that the investigation relates to the creation and publication of non-consensual sexual images of European Union residents on X using Grok’s generative AI capabilities. This included photos of children.
The commission, which is responsible for enforcing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, said in a release that it notified Mr. X of the investigation on Monday.
X did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Grok is a chatbot developed by Musk’s xAI, now a subsidiary of Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX.
The commission’s investigation followed weeks of controversy surrounding Grok and X. The platform came under fire around the world in January after reports surfaced that Grok users were creating sexual images of real people, including minors.
Countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have temporarily suspended access to Grok. The European Commission launched an investigation into Grok, but India’s Ministry of Information Technology expressed its opposition through a letter to the chief compliance officer of Company X’s Indian operations.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also said in early January that he had opened an investigation into Grok’s AI deepfakes.
In response, X made Grok’s AI image generation tool a premium feature exclusive to paying members, and later stopped generating sexual images altogether. However, a Business Insider report found that it is still possible to trigger these images in Grok’s web and mobile applications.
In response to the backlash against Grok, Musk wrote in an X post on January 3, “Those who use Grok to create illegal content will suffer the same consequences as those who upload illegal content.”
