Elon Musk’s X probed in Europe, India, and Malaysia after Grok generates explicit images

Elon Musk's social platform X (formerly Twitter) is facing regulatory scrutiny in several regions after its AI chatbot, Grok, allowed users to generate and share sexually explicit images involving women and minors.

Authorities in Europe, India, and Malaysia have launched investigations following a surge in reports that users exploited Grok’s image-generation features to create non-consensual and sexualised content based on photos of real people. 

Over the last week, several images circulated widely on X, triggering outrage from safety advocates and lawmakers.

In the United Kingdom, media regulator Ofcom has requested information from X regarding the chatbot’s safeguards. 

Meanwhile, a Brazilian lawmaker said she had asked the country’s federal prosecutor and data protection authority to temporarily suspend Grok until an inquiry is completed.

The controversy intensified after xAI rolled out updates to Grok’s “Imagine” tools, making it easier to generate images directly from text prompts.

However, Musk appeared to downplay the backlash by sharing Grok-generated images, including one depicting himself, accompanied by joking emojis.

The European Commission said it is taking the issue seriously, with a spokesperson stressing that AI-generated sexual content involving minors is illegal and unacceptable under EU law.

Moreover, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ordered X to conduct a detailed review of Grok’s technical and governance systems, while Malaysia’s communications regulator said it would summon company representatives as part of its investigation.