EU Investigates X Over Alleged Failures to Curb Illegal Grok AI Content
The European Commission has begun a formal investigation into X over alleged failures to prevent its Grok AI chatbot from generating and spreading illegal content, notably sexually explicit images of children, in violation of EU digital laws. The probe will assess whether X adequately evaluated and mitigated risks before deploying Grok's image generation features. Despite recent restrictions—limiting image generation to paying users, implementing technical barriers, and geoblocking the feature in some regions—researchers found that about one-third of child sexual abuse images identified in a review remained on the platform. EU officials condemned X's features that enabled such content, labeling them illegal and harmful. The investigation will determine if X failed to meet its obligations under the Digital Services Act, specifically regarding risk assessment and prevention of illegal content and gender-based violence. The case builds on previous action against X for deceptive design and ad transparency violations, which resulted in a major fine in late 2023. Concerns also persist over Grok producing antisemitic content, and industry figures highlight the broader challenge of verifying authorship and consent in AI-generated media.
