NAIROBI, Kenya- The European Commission says it is “very seriously” examining complaints that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, is being used to generate and spread sexually explicit images involving childlike characters, raising fresh concerns about online safety and AI governance in Europe.
Speaking on Monday, EU digital affairs spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the allegations, if proven, would amount to serious violations of European law.
“Grok is now offering a ‘spicy mode’ showing explicit sexual content with some output generated with childlike images. This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling,” Regnier told reporters, adding that such content “has no place in Europe.”
‘Spicy Mode’ Triggers Alarm Bells
The complaints emerged shortly after X, formerly Twitter, rolled out an “edit image” feature for Grok in late December. Users quickly began flagging alleged abuse of the generative AI tool, prompting backlash on the platform and renewed scrutiny from regulators.
Grok is developed by xAI, a company owned by Musk, which earlier this month said it was scrambling to fix flaws in the tool after the concerns surfaced.
French Prosecutors Expand Investigation
The controversy has also drawn the attention of law enforcement. The public prosecutor’s office in Paris has expanded an existing investigation into X to include new allegations that Grok was used to generate and disseminate child sexual abuse material.
The move deepens X’s legal troubles in Europe, where the platform is already under multiple probes.
X Under Pressure From EU Regulators
In December, the European Commission fined X 120 million euros (about $140 million) for breaching EU digital content rules, citing failures in advertising transparency and shortcomings in how the platform verifies that users are real people.
X is also still under investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), following a probe launched in December 2023. Separately, the commission has demanded information from the company regarding comments made on the platform about the Holocaust.
Regnier confirmed that X has responded to the commission’s latest request for information and warned that Brussels is prepared to take further action if necessary.
“I think X is very well aware that we’re very serious about DSA enforcement. They will remember the fine they received from us back in December,” he said. “We encourage all companies to be compliant because the commission is serious about enforcement.”
