The EU’s Privateness Watchdog Is Investigating X Over Sexualized AI Photographs

X is going through mounting criticism from overseas watchdogs over its generative AI chatbot, Grok.

The Irish Information Safety Fee mentioned Tuesday that it had opened an inquiry into Elon Musk’s X, previously generally known as Twitter.

The fee mentioned in a press launch that the inquiry was linked to the creation and publication of non-consensual, sexualized photographs of European Union residents on X utilizing Grok’s generative AI capabilities. This included photos of youngsters.

The fee, which is accountable for implementing the EU’s Basic Information Safety Regulation, mentioned within the launch that it notified X of the investigation on Monday.

X didn’t reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.

Grok is a chatbot developed by Musk’s xAI, now a subsidiary of his aerospace firm SpaceX.

The fee’s investigation follows a number of weeks of controversy round Grok and X. The platform got here below hearth worldwide in January after stories emerged of Grok customers producing sexualized photographs of actual individuals, together with minors.

Nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines quickly suspended entry to Grok. The European Fee launched an investigation into Grok, whereas India’s info expertise ministry voiced its opposition by way of a letter to the chief compliance officer of X’s India operations.

California’s Lawyer Basic, Rob Bonta, additionally mentioned in early January that he had launched a probe into Grok’s AI deepfakes.

In response, X made Grok’s AI picture era software a premium characteristic restricted to paying subscribers and later stopped it from producing sexualized photographs altogether. Nonetheless, a Enterprise Insider report discovered that it was nonetheless potential to set off these photographs in Grok’s net and cellular purposes.

In response to backlash over Grok, Musk mentioned in an X submit on January 3, “Anybody utilizing Grok to make unlawful content material will endure the identical penalties as in the event that they add unlawful content material.”