Just days into the new year, the EU is taking seriously the sexually explicit and suggestive deepfakes produced by Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, which have included images of both minors and adults. In a Brussels press briefing on 5 January, Commission spokesperson Thomas Régnier emphasised that the matter was not a minor moderation issue, but a potential breach of European digital safety rules.
He went on to say that the EU was “very seriously looking into” complaints about Grok’s image-editing features, which users have prompted to depict people, including minors, in revealing or sexualised ways. “This is not spicy,” he said, referring to the tool’s “spicy” prompt. “This is illegal.” He stressed that the fake explicit content had “no place in Europe.” Numerous advocacy groups expressed serious concerns; while some digital space observers suggested it might be seen as a gimmick by Elon Musk, advocacy groups strongly disagreed with any downplaying of the matter. Musk, is no stranger to controversy in recent years, waving a chainsaw in a past DOGE event and giving what appeared to be the Hiter salute at the inauguration of Donald Trump last January.
EU scrutiny intensifies
Complaints from across EU member states have prompted coordinated action by national authorities, signalling that regulators are treating Grok’s outputs as a serious legal concern rather than a minor platform oversight. In France, ministers have reported Grok’s sexual content to prosecutors, describing it as “manifestly illegal” under both domestic and EU law. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, India, and Malaysia, have also demanded explanations or regulatory compliance from xAI, Grok’s operator, and its social network host, X.
As of Monday, Brussels also framed Grok’s outputs as a potential breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU’s cornerstone regulation governing online platforms’ responsibility for illegal content. Platforms are required to prevent, remove, or mitigate access to unlawful digital material, and failure to comply can carry fines of up to six per cent of global turnover. Regulators view the production and dissemination of sexually explicit deepfakes, particularly involving minors, as a serious enforcement issue rather than an accidental oversight.
Generative AI risks
The Grok controversy has highlighted the broader risks of generative AI in Europe. While the EU AI Act is still being implemented, policymakers have consistently cited non-consensual or harmful AI outputs as key concerns. Officials stress that platforms offering AI content tools must implement strict safeguards, transparency measures, and human oversight to prevent illegal or harmful outputs.
The Grok controversy thus is the latest test case of both the DSA and broader AI governance expectations. The Commission has made clear that sexually explicit deepfakes, especially those involving minors will face rigorous legal scrutiny. As spokesman Régnier stated, “There is no tolerance for illegal content.”
