🛡️ Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), the EU regulator that oversees X’s main European establishment, has opened a GDPR inquiry into X over the creation and posting of non-consensual, sexualised AI images made using Grok’s generative features, including images involving minors 231. The DPC said it notified X of the investigation on Monday and called the inquiry “large-scale,” a sign of how closely regulators are watching fast-moving consumer AI tools embedded in major social platforms 21.
The probe is the latest in a widening set of official responses worldwide after January reports that Grok could be used to generate sexualised deepfake-style images of real people 23.
Sources
- EU privacy watchdog opens probe into X over sexualised AI images [ft.com] (2026-02-17)
- The EU's privacy watchdog is investigating X over sexualized AI images [businessinsider.com] (2026-02-17)
- Grok faces more scrutiny over deepfakes [abcnews.go.com] (2026-02-17)
- EU privacy watchdog opens probe into Elon Musk’s X over sexualised AI images - Financial Times [google.com] (2026-02-17)
Highlights
Perspectives
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission: The regulator said it opened a GDPR inquiry linked to the creation and publication of non-consensual, sexualised images of EU residents using Grok, including images of children, and that it notified X on Monday.
Financial Times: The Financial Times called the DPC inquiry “large-scale” and framed it as another sign of rising regulatory scrutiny of Grok’s chatbot and related tools.