Pressure grows on Musk as ICO launches official investigation into X
Britain's information regulator has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok amid allegations it created sexualised images of children.The artificial intelligence product, which is available as both a standalone website and app as well as an integration into social network X, caused a digital firestorm after users began asking it to undress images of real women without consent.Online watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation says that as well as changing adult women into bikinis or states of implied nudity, the Elon Musk-backed AI bot was also creating inappropriate sexualised images of children.Today, the Information Commissioner's Office launched an investigation into Grok's use of people's personal information in relation to its 'potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content'.It comes as internet regulator Ofcom continues to assess whether X has breached the Online Safety Act by allowing deepfake images to be shared on its site.From Saturday, creating, or requesting the creation of, non-consensual sexualised deepfakes becomes a criminal offence after the Government rapidly updated the Act in response to the scandal.X's French offices have also been raided by prosecutors today as they carry out their own probe into whether Grok was responsible for spreading child pornography and deepfakes.The ICO said that the reported creation and circulation of non-consensual images of adults and children raised 'serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public'. Pressure is growing on Elon Musk to curb AI chatbot Grok amid reports that it has been used to generate sexualised deepfakes of women and children The use of Grok to undress women and children has sparked a huge backlash against X and Elon Musk, who initially sought to laugh off the scandalIt says it will investigate whether safeguards were built into Grok's design to prevent it from being used for abuse. The investigation will look at both X.AI LLC - the parent firm of X - and its Ireland subsidiary X Internet Unlimited Company.William Malcolm, of the ICO, said reports of Grok's ability to create sexualised images were 'deeply troubling' and that they posed a risk of 'immediate and significant harm... particularly the case where children are involved'.He added: 'Our investigation will assess whether XIUC and X.AI have complied with data protection law in the development and deployment of the Grok services, including the safeguards in place to protect people's data rights. Where we find obligations have not been met, we will take action to protect the public.'The ICO's investigation will focus on whether people's personal data has been processed lawfully by Grok. Under UK GDPR law, photographs are considered personal data and require consent to be processed.Internet regulator Ofcom is examining whether X is adhering to the Online Safety Act after images generated using Grok were shared en masse. The horrifying problem stemmed from the fact that Grok could be tagged into the replies underneath photographs uploaded onto X by users who could then make twisted requests to change the images.Among those reviewed by the Daily Mail included requests to 'cover her in PVA glue' and to dress one woman in a 'very thin bikini'. Many of these images remain online.In a post dated January 1, the @Grok account on X admitted it had generated an image depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). It is unclear whether the post was written by a real person or by artificial intelligence.'Dear Community, I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt,' the post read.'This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on CSAM. It was a failure in safeguards, and I'm sorry for any harm caused. xAI is reviewing to prevent future issues. Sincerely, Grok.'Ofcom says it has sent several legally binding requests for information to X over the posts made by Grok - and has warned that the firm faces fines if it fails to comply.Companies can be fined up to 10 per cent of their worldwide turnover for breaches of the Online Safety Act. Elon Musk sought to laugh off the scandal, initially sharing images of the Prime Minister in a bikini. However, under pressure and facing the threat of a ban in the UK, X eventually relented, promising in the middle of last month to have culled the ability to change the clothing of real people. 'We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content,' its safety team said in a post.'We have implemented technological measures to prevent the [@]Grok account on X globally from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.' This has been disputed by campaigners - but an attempt by the Daily Mail to change someone's clothing in the standalone Grok app was denied today with the message: 'Content moderated'.
