The European Commission has launched an investigation into the tech company X, focusing on the sexualized deepfakes produced by its Grok AI chatbot. The Commission aims to assess whether X adequately evaluated and mitigated the risks associated with Grok’s image-generation capabilities within the EU, as highlighted by The New York Times.
Concerns were raised globally by advocacy groups and legislators after Grok’s AI editing feature was reportedly used to create sexualized images of women and minors. While X has restricted public image editing, users can still generate such content through Grok’s chatbot interface on the platform.
This investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) marks an extension of a previous 2023 probe into X, which also scrutinizes the platform’s Grok-powered recommendation system. The EU has already fined X $140 million for deceptive practices related to this system.
The EU Commission’s executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, Henna Virkkunen, condemned sexual deepfakes as a degrading form of violence. The investigation will determine X’s compliance with the DSA and its treatment of European citizens’ rights, particularly those of women and children.
If found in violation, X could face fines of up to 6 percent of its global annual revenue under the DSA.
Source: The Verge