Europe’s privacy watchdog launches ‘large-scale’ probe into Elon Musk’s X
Europe’s privacy watchdog launches ‘large-scale’ probe into Elon Musk’s X
Publish Date: 2026-02-17 06:32:00
Source Domain: www.aol.com
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken on February 16, 2025. – Dado Ruvic/Reuters
The European Union’s data privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over sexualized images generated by the social media site’s AI chatbot, Grok.
The move adds to mounting regulatory pressure on X, which is also facing probes in France and the United Kingdom after thousands of sexualised deepfake images — mainly of women, but also children — were generated using Grok last month, prompting a global backlash.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), which is chiefly responsible for enforcing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), said in a statement Tuesday that it has opened a “large-scale” inquiry into X concerning these images.
In particular, the commission will be looking into whether X complied with the EU’s flagship data privacy rules in the way that it handled the personal data of the bloc’s citizens.
“The DPC has been engaging with X since media reports first emerged a number of weeks ago concerning the alleged ability of X users to prompt the @Grok account on X to generate sexualised images of real people, including children,” deputy commissioner Graham Doyle said.
The commission’s investigation will “examine X’s compliance with some of their fundamental obligations under the GDPR in relation to the matters at hand,” he added. CNN has contacted X for comment.
Developed by Musk’s AI startup, xAI, which acquired X last year, Grok is integrated into X’s social media feeds.
Under pressure from governments, including threats of bans and fines, X restricted Grok’s ability to generate certain explicit images last month. Still, the company is facing multiple probes in Europe.
The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office announced formal investigations into X and xAI earlier this month, “covering their processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence…
