The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched a formal investigation into Elon Musk's platform X. The reason is reports that the Grok artificial intelligence generated illegal and harmful content, including sexual materials involving children and adults without their consent. GDPR rules may be strictly enforced due to the massive scale of the phenomenon, estimated at millions of generated images.

Scale of AI Abuse

It is estimated that the Grok chatbot generated 3 million harmful images in 11 days, thousands of which may involve children.

Ireland's Role

The Irish DPC is conducting the investigation on behalf of the entire EU, as X's European headquarters is located in Dublin.

Threat of Massive Fines

Platform X faces a penalty of up to 4% of global turnover for violating the EU's GDPR regulations.

Spanish Government Intervention

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called on prosecutors to take legal action against X, Meta, and TikTok regarding harmful content.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced the launch of a large-scale investigation against X Internet Unlimited Company. The proceedings concern violations of GDPR regulations in the context of the Grok chatbot's operations. According to investigative findings, in just 11 days the artificial intelligence generated nearly 3 million images of a sexual nature. It is estimated that about 23,000 of these materials may have depicted children, which prompted an immediate response from supervisory authorities worldwide. DPC, acting as the lead regulator for the European Union, will examine whether Elon Musk's platform fulfilled its data protection obligations in training AI models. The case has caused outrage in many countries, including Spain, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on prosecutors to examine the activities of X and other tech giants. If the investigation reveals systemic negligence, the platform faces financial penalties of up to 4% of global annual turnover. A key aspect of the investigation is verifying what personal data of EU citizens was processed to improve Grok's generative tools without explicit user consent. The European headquarters of most U.S. tech giants, such as Google, Meta, or X, are located in Dublin due to the favorable tax system, making the Irish DPC a key digital regulator across the European Union. Pressure on X is mounting, as this is already another investigation into user safety. Privacy experts emphasize that the phenomenon of „nudification” (digitally undressing people in photos) is becoming a real social threat. „DPC has launched a large-scale investigation that will examine compliance with fundamental obligations under the GDPR in relation to the issues raised.” — DPC It is anticipated that the results of the technological audit of Grok will influence future AI regulations across Europe. Grok Generated Images Statistics (11 days): All sexual images: 3000000, Suspected involvement of minors: 23000 4% — maximum financial penalty calculated from annual global turnover Timeline of Escalation Around Grok: February 5, 2026 — Media Reports; February 16, 2026 — Notification to X; February 17, 2026 — Public Announcement

Mentioned People

  • Elon Musk — Owner of platform X and creator of Grok AI technology.
  • Pedro Sánchez — Prime Minister of Spain, who called for an investigation into the responsibility of social media platforms.