News|TechnologyEU launches probe into Grok AI feature creating deepfakes of women, minorsCommission President Ursula von der Leyen says Europe will not ‘tolerate unthinkable behaviour, such as digital undressing of women and children’.

The European Commission has initiated an investigation into the AI chatbot Grok, developed by Elon Musk, concerning the generation of sexually explicit deepfake images involving women and minors. This inquiry focuses on compliance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates social media platforms to manage illegal and harmful online content.

The investigation will assess whether the platform, X, has effectively mitigated risks associated with the distribution of illegal content within the EU. This includes manipulated sexually explicit images, potentially involving child sexual abuse material.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Europe will not permit such behavior, emphasizing the importance of consent and child protection from exploitation and monetization by technology companies.

Following public concern, it was revealed that users could prompt Grok to create deepfakes with commands like “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes.”

EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen has highlighted the need to protect the rights of women and children from being compromised by services offered by X.

In response to criticism, Grok announced it would limit image generation and editing functions to paying customers.

As of December 2023, X has been under EU scrutiny for compliance with digital content regulations. Earlier, the EU imposed a fine of 120 million euros ($140 million) on X for breaching DSA transparency obligations.

In addition to EU actions, the UK’s media regulator, Ofcom, has launched an investigation to verify X’s adherence to the UK’s Online Safety Act requirements.

Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.