Brussels (dpa) – The European Commission has initiated an investigation into the US tech company X regarding its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, which has produced sexualized images of women and children.
“Non-consensual sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation,” stated EU Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen on Monday.
The inquiry will assess whether X has fulfilled its responsibilities under European Union law, including the requirement to “diligently assess and mitigate systemic risks,” according to a statement from the Commission, which serves as the EU’s digital regulatory authority.
“This encompasses risks associated with the distribution of illegal content within the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including those that may constitute child sexual abuse material,” the statement noted. “These risks appear to have materialized, putting EU citizens at significant risk.”
Elon Musk‘s social media platform has faced substantial criticism in recent weeks after Grok enabled users to digitally alter women’s attire to bikinis and, in some instances, generate sexualized representations of minors.
Following widespread international condemnation, X implemented certain restrictions in mid-January.
These measures include prohibiting Grok from “editing images of real individuals in revealing clothing such as bikinis” and limiting the image creation functionality of the AI chatbot to paid subscribers, as stated by X.
The Commission emphasized that the initiation of the investigation does not imply any presumption regarding its outcome. (26 January)
The editorial responsibility for the publication lies with dpa.
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