The European Commission opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk's X platform on January 26, 2026, targeting the social media company's failure to prevent its Grok AI chatbot from creating sexually explicit deepfake images.
EU regulators will examine whether X conducted proper risk assessments before deploying Grok's image-generation tools across European markets. The probe operates under the Digital Services Act, which mandates that large online platforms implement safeguards against illegal content distribution.
Research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate indicates Grok produced approximately 3 million sexualized images within two weeks of its image-editing feature launch. About 23,000 of those images appeared to depict minors, according to the watchdog group's analysis.
This comes as Google expands its privacy tool to monitor government IDs and remove explicit images from search results.
X responded to international criticism by restricting Grok's image-editing capabilities to paying subscribers in late January. The company also implemented geographic blocks in regions where such content violates local laws.
European Commission officials stated these measures failed to address systemic platform risks.
"Sexual deepfakes of women and children represent a violent, unacceptable form of degradation," said Henna Virkkunen, the EU Commission's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. "This investigation will determine whether X fulfilled its legal obligations under the DSA or treated European citizens' rights as collateral damage."
The new investigation extends an existing Digital Services Act case against X that began in December 2023. That earlier proceeding resulted in a €120 million penalty against the platform in December 2025 for deceptive verification practices and research access restrictions.
Potential penalties for DSA violations include fines reaching 6% of a company's global annual revenue. The Commission maintains authority to impose interim operational restrictions during investigative proceedings.
Multiple Asian nations temporarily blocked Grok access earlier this year following child safety concerns. Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines restored platform access after xAI implemented additional content safeguards.
The UK's media regulator Ofcom launched a separate investigation into X in January 2026 over potential child sexual abuse material generation.
EU officials will also examine X's content recommendation systems, particularly following company announcements about increased Grok integration for content filtering. Regulators expressed concerns that AI-driven recommendations could accelerate illegal content dissemination.
This investigation follows similar EU regulatory actions against Meta regarding AI chatbot competition on WhatsApp.
"This content has no place in Europe," stated EU Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier during a Brussels press conference addressing X's "Spicy Mode" feature. "We will not tolerate unthinkable behavior such as digital undressing of women and children."
The investigation involves coordination with Ireland's national Digital Services Coordinator, Coimisiún na Meán. Formal proceedings enable evidence collection through document requests, interviews, and potential platform inspections.
Despite mounting regulatory pressure, xAI secured $20 billion in Series E funding on January 6, 2026, with investments from Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, Nvidia, and Cisco.
The financing round occurred as parent company X faced increasing international scrutiny over Grok's capabilities.
The case represents the European Union's most substantial regulatory action against AI-generated content to date, testing Digital Services Act enforcement mechanisms against rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technologies.
