The EU's privacy watchdog is investigating X over sexualized AI images

An EU privacy watchdog is investigating X. Pablo VERA / AFP via Getty Images 2026-02-17T05:04:21.176Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. An Irish data privacy watchdog is the latest to launch a probe into X. Several foreign agencies are investigating reports of Grok generating sexualized AI images. Countries like Indonesia and Malaysia temporarily blocked access to the chatbot in January. X is facing mounting criticism from foreign watchdogs over its generative AI chatbot, Grok.

The Irish Data Protection Commission said Tuesday that it had opened an inquiry into Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter.The commission said in a press release that the inquiry was linked to the creation and publication of non-consensual, sexualized images of European Union residents on X using Grok's generative AI functions. This included pictures of children. The commission, which is responsible for enforcing the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, said in the release that it notified X of the investigation on Monday.X did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Grok is a chatbot developed by Musk's xAI, now a subsidiary of his aerospace company SpaceX.The commission's investigation follows several weeks of controversy around Grok and X. The platform came under fire worldwide in January after reports emerged of Grok users generating sexualized images of real people, including minors. Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines temporarily suspended access to Grok.

The European Commission launched an investigation into Grok, while India's information technology ministry voiced its opposition via a letter to the chief compliance officer of X's India operations.California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta, also said in early January that he had launched a probe into Grok's AI deepfakes. In response, X made Grok's AI image generation tool a premium feature limited to paying subscribers and later stopped it from generating sexualized images altogether. However, a Business Insider report found that it was still possible to trigger these images in Grok's web and mobile applications.In response to backlash over Grok, Musk said in an X post on January 3, "Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content."