EU opens probe into Musk’s Grok over sexual AI deepfakes
By AFP
January 26, 2026
The EU on Monday announced a probe into Elon Musk's Grok over the generation of sexualised deepfake images - Copyright AFP Nicolas TUCAT
Max DELANY
The EU on Monday hit Elon Musk’s X with an investigation over AI chatbot Grok’s generation of sexualised deepfake images of women and minors, in the latest step of an international backlash against the tool.
Grok faces an outcry after it emerged that users could sexualise images of women and children using simple text prompts such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes”.
“In Europe, we will not tolerate unthinkable behaviour, such as digital undressing of women and children,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“It is simple — we will not hand over consent and child protection to tech companies to violate and monetise. The harm caused by illegal images is very real,” she said in a statement to AFP.
EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the probe would “determine whether X has met its legal obligations” under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which is designed to police internet giants.
She said the rights of women and children in the EU should not be “collateral damage” of X’s services.
Brussels said it was investigating whether X had properly mitigated “risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material”.
– Three million images –
According to research published Thursday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit watchdog, Grok generated an estimated three million sexualised images of women and children in a matter of days.
As part of the new probe, the EU said it was widening an existing investigation into X aimed at tackling the spread of illegal content and information manipulation.
Musk’s social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been the target of an investigation since December 2023 under the EU’s digital content rules.
Brussels slapped a 120-million-euro ($140-million) fine on X in December for violating the transparency obligations of the DSA, triggering angry reactions from US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The breaches included the deceptive design of its “blue checkmark” for supposedly verified accounts, and failure to provide access to public data for researchers.
The EU has insisted it will enforce its rules despite pressure from Washington.
The dispute over tech regulation comes as the bloc has grappled with the Trump administration on multiple other fronts — from the Ukraine war to trade to Greenland.
By AFP
January 26, 2026
The EU on Monday announced a probe into Elon Musk's Grok over the generation of sexualised deepfake images - Copyright AFP Nicolas TUCAT
Max DELANY
The EU on Monday hit Elon Musk’s X with an investigation over AI chatbot Grok’s generation of sexualised deepfake images of women and minors, in the latest step of an international backlash against the tool.
Grok faces an outcry after it emerged that users could sexualise images of women and children using simple text prompts such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes”.
“In Europe, we will not tolerate unthinkable behaviour, such as digital undressing of women and children,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“It is simple — we will not hand over consent and child protection to tech companies to violate and monetise. The harm caused by illegal images is very real,” she said in a statement to AFP.
EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the probe would “determine whether X has met its legal obligations” under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which is designed to police internet giants.
She said the rights of women and children in the EU should not be “collateral damage” of X’s services.
Brussels said it was investigating whether X had properly mitigated “risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material”.
– Three million images –
According to research published Thursday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit watchdog, Grok generated an estimated three million sexualised images of women and children in a matter of days.
As part of the new probe, the EU said it was widening an existing investigation into X aimed at tackling the spread of illegal content and information manipulation.
Musk’s social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been the target of an investigation since December 2023 under the EU’s digital content rules.
Brussels slapped a 120-million-euro ($140-million) fine on X in December for violating the transparency obligations of the DSA, triggering angry reactions from US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The breaches included the deceptive design of its “blue checkmark” for supposedly verified accounts, and failure to provide access to public data for researchers.
The EU has insisted it will enforce its rules despite pressure from Washington.
The dispute over tech regulation comes as the bloc has grappled with the Trump administration on multiple other fronts — from the Ukraine war to trade to Greenland.
By AFP
January 23, 2026
Grok is X's AI chatbot - Copyright AFP Lionel BONAVENTURE
Anna Malpas and Justine Gerardy
British academic Daisy Dixon felt “violated” after the Grok chatbot on Elon Musk’s X social media platform allowed users to generate sexualised images of her in a bikini or lingerie.
She was doubly shocked to see Grok even complied with one user’s request to depict her “swollen pregnant” wearing a bikini and a wedding ring.
“Someone has hijacked your digital body,” the philosophy lecturer at Cardiff University told AFP, adding it was an “assault” and “extreme misogyny”.
As the images proliferated “I had … this sort of desire to hide myself,” the 36-year-old academic said, adding now “that fear has been more replaced with rage”.
The revelation that X’s Grok AI tool allowed users to generate images of people in underwear via simple prompts triggered a wave of outrage and revulsion.
Several countries responded by blocking the chatbot after a flood of lewd deepfakes exploded online.
According to research published Thursday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit watchdog, Grok generated an estimated three million sexualised images of women and children in a matter of days.
CCDH’s report estimated that Grok generated this volume of photorealistic images over an 11-day period — an average rate of 190 per minute.
After days of furore, Musk backed down and agreed to geoblock the function in countries where creating such images is illegal, although it was not immediately clear where the tool would be restricted.
“I’m happy with the overall progress that has been made,” said Dixon, who has more than 34,000 followers on X and is active on social media.
But she added: “This should never have happened at all.”
She first noticed artificially generated images of herself on X in December. Users took a few photos she had posted in gym gear and a bikini and used Grok to manipulate them.
Under the UK’s new Data Act, which came into force this month, creating or sharing non-consensual deepfakes is a criminal offence.
– ‘Minimal attire’ –
The first images were quite tame — changing hair or makeup — but they “really escalated” to become sexualised, said Dixon.
Users instructed Grok to put her in a thong, enlarge her hips and make her pose “sluttier”.
“And then Grok would generate the image,” said Dixon, author of an upcoming book “Depraved”, about dangerous art.
In the worst case, a user asked to depict her in a “rape factory” — although Grok did not comply.
Grok on X automatically posts generated images, so she saw many in the comments on her page.
This public posting carries “higher risk of direct harassment than private ‘nudification apps'”, said Paul Bouchaud, lead researcher for Paris non-profit AI Forensics.
In a report released this month, he looked at 20,000 images generated by Grok, finding over half showed people in “minimal attire”, almost all women.
Grok has “contributed significantly to the surge in non-consensual intimate imagery because of its popularity”, said Hany Farid, co-founder of GetReal Security and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
He slammed X’s “half measures” in response, telling AFP they are “being easily circumvented”.
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