EU Demand Action From X Over Sexual Deepfakes Generated By Grok AI
Pressure is mounting on Elon Musk’s social media platform X after reports that its AI chatbot Grok has been used to create sexualised deepfake images, including of women and children.
UK technology secretary Liz Kendall said she has told X to act immediately, calling the situation “absolutely appalling”. The BBC has seen examples of users asking Grok to digitally alter photos by removing clothing or placing people in sexualised scenarios without consent.
“We cannot and will not allow the proliferation of these degrading images,” Kendall said, adding that the issue is not about free speech but enforcing the law. She confirmed she fully supports regulator Ofcom, which has made “urgent contact” with X and its AI company xAI and is now investigating whether Grok has been producing “undressed images” of people.
Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, platforms are required to prevent and swiftly remove illegal content, including AI-generated intimate image abuse and cyberflashing. Kendall said: “Services and operators have a clear obligation to act appropriately.”
Concerns are also growing across Europe. The European Commission has condemned what it says is the spread of explicit and illegal content generated through Grok. EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier said the chatbot had been used to produce pornographic material, including images depicting children.
“Grok is now offering a ‘spicy mode’ showing explicit sexual content with some output generated with child-like images,” he said. “This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting.”
French prosecutors have widened an investigation into X to include allegations that Grok has been used to generate and distribute child sexual abuse material. The probe follows the rollout of a new image-editing feature that allowed users to alter photos on the platform, including requests to remove clothing.
Grok has admitted problems with its safeguards. In a recent post, the chatbot said there had been “lapses in safeguards” and that fixes were being rolled out urgently, stressing that “CSAM [Child Sexual Abuse Material] is illegal and prohibited”.
AI safety experts say the problems were foreseeable. Tyler Johnston of watchdog group The Midas Project said: “In August, we warned that xAI’s image generation was essentially a nudification tool waiting to be weaponised.”
Elon Musk has responded by warning users against illegal activity. “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” he wrote on X. The platform’s safety team added: “We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.”
The controversy adds to X’s ongoing troubles in Europe, where it is already under investigation under the Digital Services Act and was fined €120m in December over advertising transparency issues.
For now, regulators on both sides of the Channel are making clear that they expect swift changes to how Grok operates — and are prepared to take action if they don’t see them.
