European Commission Launches Investigation into Elon Musk’s X over AI-Generated Explicit Content
The European Commission has opened an investigation into X, a social network owned by Elon Musk, over its deployment of Grok, an artificial intelligence assistant that has been used to generate false and explicit images of women and minors. The Commission suspects that X may have violated the Digital Services Law (DSA) by activating Grok without adequately evaluating or mitigating the risks related to the dissemination of sexually explicit manipulated images, gender violence, and child sexual abuse material.
According to the Commission, the deployment of Grok has exposed citizens of the European Union to serious harm, including physical and mental well-being. The Commission’s executive vice president, Henna Virkkunen, stated that “non-consensual sexual acts of women and children are a violent and unacceptable form of degradation” and that the investigation will determine whether X has treated the rights of European citizens as “collateral damage” of its service.
Investigation and Potential Consequences
The investigation will require X to provide a report on its risk assessment process for Grok, including any measures taken to mitigate the potential negative effects of the functionality. If the Commission finds that X has failed to comply with the DSA, it could impose a fine of up to 5% of its daily global turnover, which could result in a significant financial penalty.
In addition to the fine, the Commission may also adopt coercive measures to ensure X’s compliance with the DSA. The investigation is ongoing, and the Commission has defended its actions, stating that it can only intervene in “systemic” problems on a platform, while individual cases are handled by national judicial or data protection authorities.
The AI of the social network X (Grok) limits photo editing also to paying users / Archive
Previous Actions and Fines
In December 2023, the Commission imposed a fine of 120 million euros on X for violating transparency rules established by the DSA. The fine was related to X’s advertising practices, lack of access to public data for researchers, and deceptive design of its verification branding. Elon Musk responded to the fine by calling for the “abolition” of the EU.
Technology magnate Elon Musk is saying goodbye to his role as special advisor to US President Donald Trump. / Evan Vucci / AP
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