The UK’s data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has launched an investigation into X and xAI over Grok’s creation and circulation of sexualised content.
“We have taken this step following reports that Grok has been used to generate non-consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children,” an ICO statement reads. “The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public.”
The ICO’s concerns relate to whether personal data was processed “lawfully, fairly and transparently,” and whether “appropriate safeguards” were built into Grok’s design to prevent the generation of harmful manipulated images using personal data.
News of the ICO’s investigation comes the same day as X’s French offices were raided by the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit. The prosecutor’s office has also summoned both X owner Elon Musk and former CEO, Linda Yaccarino, to appear at hearings in April.
The French investigation opened in January 2025. Investigators were originally examining X’s content recommendation algorithm, including whether it was promoting sexualised content and Holocaust denial, and the effort was widened in July to include Grok. In a contemporaneous post, X’s Global Government Affairs account called the effort “politically-motivated” and denied the allegations.
Now, French authorities are also looking into potential crimes, including complicity in possession or organised distribution of images of children of pornographic nature, as well as infringement of people’s image rights through the creation of sexual deepfakes.
A separate investigation into X by UK media regulator Ofcom remains ongoing.
The Media Leader has contacted X for comment.
While X claims to have restricted the use of Grok for the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery (CSAM) and other sexualised images, an investigation by Reuters, published today, found that Grok is continuing to generate such imagery when prompted to, even when users explicitly warn the chatbot that the subjects of the images do not consent.
Separately, the social media company has a new parent. X was acquired by xAI last March, and xAI has now been acquired by SpaceX. All three companies are owned by Musk.
SpaceX is reportedly eyeing an initial public offering; the company, which now encompasses rocket building, social media and AI services, is currently valued at $1.25tn.
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