Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, has been under investigation in France, California, the UK, India, and Brazil for allegedly creating objectionable intimate images, including images featuring children. Now, it is facing yet another investigation, this time in Ireland.
On Tuesday, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced that it has opened an investigation into Musk’s X, which owns Grok, regarding “potentially harmful, inappropriate and/or sexual images, containing or involving the processing of personal data of EU/EEA data subjects, including children, using generative intelligence for language processing related to X Grok’s main language processing platform.”
IX already is the subject of an EU investigation from French authorities into Grok’s actions during a nearly two-week period that began late last year and went into 2026. Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, announced its investigation into Grok last month, with possible fines of up to 10 percent of X’s revenue.
During this investigation, Grok is facing a possible ban in Malaysia and Indonesia.
When xAI launched Grok Imagine, a new AI tool for image and video production, last August, a report by Mashable revealed that it lacked basic security measures to prevent sexual in-depth and intimate photos without consent.
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In late December, a harsh spotlight was placed on Grok when a critical mass of X users realized that the chatbot who produces pornographic images of individuals based on the requests of other X users. While these banned images usually feature celebrities or private adults, some users have reported finding AI-generated images featuring children as well.
A learn from the nonprofit watchdog Center for Counting Digital Hate (CCDH) found that over an 11-day period, Grok produced approximately three million sexual images, including 23,000 images of children.
Musk initially defended Grok and said that governments like the UK just wanted to stifle free speech. Finally, X paid for some of Grok’s photo-production capabilities after its X Premium subscription. Soon after, X has changed its policies and completely prohibits the production of pornographic images containing real people.
While it appears that X has now resolved this particular issue involving Grok, the length of time it took for Musk’s company to act, and the sheer number of images generated by the chatbot, will likely be at the forefront of the ongoing investigation.
“DPC has been cooperating with XIUC [X Internet Unlimited Company] as media reports began to emerge a few weeks ago about the alleged ability of X users to inform the @Grok account on X to produce sexual images of real people, including children,” DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said in a statement. obligations under the GDPR in relation to the issues at hand.”
If you have shared intimate photos without your consent, call the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative’s 24/7 hotline at 844-878-2274 for free, confidential support. The CCRI website includes useful information and a list of international services.
