EU Opens Investigation Into Elon Musk’s Grok AI Chatbot

The European Union (EU) has launched a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot, intensifying scrutiny of artificial intelligence tools deployed on social media platforms. The probe, announced by the European Commission on Monday, will examine whether X, formerly Twitter, complied with its legal obligations under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) when rolling out Grok’s AI features across Europe.

The EU investigation follows mounting concerns that Grok has been used to generate sexually explicit deepfake images of women and minors, raising alarms over online safety, consent, and child protection.

What the EU Is Investigating

According to the European Commission, the probe will assess whether Elon Musk’s X properly identified and mitigated the risks associated with Grok’s deployment within the EU. These risks include the dissemination of illegal content such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including material that could qualify as child sexual abuse content under European law.

In a strongly worded statement, EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the Commission needed to determine whether X had treated the rights of European citizens, “including those of women and children,” as “collateral damage” in the rollout of its AI services. She described non-consensual sexualised images as a “violent, unacceptable form of degradation.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed those concerns, stating that Europe would not tolerate “unthinkable behaviour, such as digital undressing of women and children,” emphasising that the harm caused by illegal AI-generated images is “very real.”

Grok, Deepfakes, and Growing Outrage

Grok has come under fire in recent weeks after reports suggested users could easily prompt the chatbot to generate sexualised images by issuing commands such as “remove her clothes” or “put her in a bikini.” A report by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate estimated that Grok generated millions of sexualised images of women and children within days.

Several governments have already reacted. Malaysia reportedly blocked Grok, while the UK’s media regulator Ofcom has opened its own investigation under the Online Safety Act, highlighting the global implications of the controversy.

X Responds, EU Not Satisfied

Under the EU investigation, X has pointed to a January 14 statement in which it said its AI subsidiary, xAI, had restricted image editing features and blocked the generation of images depicting people in revealing clothing in jurisdictions where such content is illegal. However, the company did not specify which countries were affected.

Senior EU officials acknowledged these changes but said they did not fully address the systemic risks, adding that there was grounds to believe X failed to conduct a proper risk assessment before launching Grok’s features in Europe.

Political and Financial Stakes

The probe could further strain relations between Brussels and Washington. The Trump administration has criticised the EU’s aggressive enforcement of tech regulations, arguing they threaten US companies’ digital revenues in Europe. X has already been under DSA investigation since December 2023 and was fined €120 million last month over transparency violations.

As regulators tighten oversight of AI-driven platforms, the Grok investigation may become a defining test of how far Europe is willing to go to enforce its digital rules—and how Silicon Valley responds.