Grok faces an outcry after it emerged that users could sexualise images of women and children using simple text prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes".
"In Europe, we will not tolerate unthinkable behaviour, such as digital undressing of women and children," said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
"It is simple -- we will not hand over consent and child protection to tech companies to violate and monetise. The harm caused by illegal images is very real," she said in a statement to AFP.
EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the probe would "determine whether X has met its legal obligations" under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), which is designed to police internet giants.
She said the rights of women and children in the EU should not be "collateral damage" of X's services.
Brussels said it was investigating whether X had properly mitigated "risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material".
The EU move comes despite repeated US threats of retaliation against enforcement of tech rules President Donald Trump's administration attacks as curbing free speech and unfairly targeting US firms.
- Three million images -
Under fire, Grok said earlier this month it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers.
But that move did not stave off the EU's probe -- which follows investigations in multiple countries including France and the United Kingdom.
"Let's be very clear, child sexual abuse material is not a premium privilege," said EU commission spokesman Thomas Regnier.
According to research published Thursday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit watchdog, Grok generated an estimated three million sexualised images of women and children in a matter of days.
As part of the new probe, the EU said it was widening an existing investigation into X aimed at tackling the spread of illegal content and information manipulation.
That move was due to the fact that X announced last week Grok will now power its recommendation system for users and EU concerns that the company had not adequately assessed the risks.
Contacted by AFP, X did not immediately react to the EU announcement.
Musk's social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been the target of an investigation under the EU's digital content rules since December 2023.
Brussels in December slapped a 120-million-euro ($140-million) fine on X -- the first-ever imposed under the DSA -- for violating transparency rules, triggering angry reactions from Trump's administration.
X's breaches included the deceptive design of its "blue checkmark" for supposedly verified accounts, and failure to provide access to public data for researchers.
Violators can in theory face much higher fines -- up to six percent of a provider's global turnover -- for breaching the DSA, and the EU has the power to ban offending platforms from Europe for repeated non-compliance.
The EU has insisted it will enforce its tech rules despite pressure from Washington -- which has pressed the bloc to roll them back.
The dispute over regulation comes as the EU has grappled with the Trump administration on multiple other fronts -- from the Ukraine war to trade to Greenland.
In outlining the new X probe, commission spokesman Regnier said the EU enforces its legislation "firmly, fairly, objectively" and did not "target any company based on its origin."
In a separate move, the European Commission on Monday added WhatsApp to its list of digital firms big enough to face stricter content rules under the DSA.
The Meta-owned service joins Facebook, TikTok, X and others in a list of 26 "very large online platforms," after its "channels" feature passed 45 million monthly active users in the European Union.
The tougher obligations will apply only to its "channels", considered a broadcasting feature, rather than its core messaging service.
EU says WhatsApp to face stricter content rules
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Jan 26, 2026 -
WhatsApp is set to face greater EU scrutiny after the European Commission on Monday added the platform to its list of digital firms big enough to face stricter content rules.
The Meta-owned service joined Facebook, TikTok, X and others in a list of 26 "very large online platforms" after its "channels" feature passed 45 million monthly active users in the European Union.
The channels feature will face tougher obligations under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA) because it is considered a broadcasting feature distinct from its core messaging service.
"These obligations include duly assessing and mitigating any systemic risks, such as violations of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression, electoral manipulation, the dissemination of illegal content and privacy concerns," said a commission statement.
WhatsApp will have until late May to comply with the content law, which has been labelled as "censorship" and discriminatory by US President Donald Trump's government.
The platform said in its latest DSA transparency report published last year that its channels had around 51.7 million monthly active users in the 27-nation EU.
WhatsApp is already in the EU's crosshairs over its AI features, with an antitrust probe opened in December to determine if the way Meta is rolling out the tool breaches the bloc's competition rules.
- US anger -
The EU has stepped up regulatory enforcement against the world's biggest digital platforms, including many American platforms, despite strong US pushback and threats of retaliation.
Last month, it imposed its first-ever DSA fine, hitting Elon Musk's X with a 120-million-euro ($140-million) penalty for violating transparency rules -- and on Monday it opened a new probe into the generation of sexualised deepfake images by X's AI tool Grok.
Meta's other platforms already face the risk of heavy fines under DSA.
In October 2025, the EU accused Facebook and Instagram of failing to grant researchers sufficient access to public data and not providing user-friendly ways to flag illegal content or challenge content-moderation decisions.
Brussels is also investigating Facebook and Instagram over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of the platforms for children.
And under the DSA's sister competition law known as the Digital Markets Act, Brussels slapped a 200-million-euro fine on Meta, which has appealed.
California governor to probe TikTok on Trump censorship allegation
Washington, United States (AFP) Jan 27, 2026 -
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was launching a probe on Monday into allegations that TikTok censored content critical of US President Donald Trump.
Democratic Newsom is one of Trump's most vocal critics and has accused the president's administration of curbing basic freedoms in the United States.
"It's time to investigate. I am launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content," Newsom posted on X.
TikTok announced last week it had established a new joint venture to operate its US business, which would reduce its Chinese ownership to 19.9 percent and puts majority control in the hands of American businesses including Trump's allies.
Washington has long sought to tighten control on TikTok, citing national security concerns over the platform's Beijing-based parent company ByteDance.
"Following TikTok's sale to a Trump-aligned business group, our office has received reports -- and independently confirmed instances -- of suppressed content critical of President Trump," Newsom's office wrote on social media platform X.
Newsom shared a screenshot appearing to show a TikTok user unable to send a message reading "epstein" because it violated the platform's community guidelines.
Trump's past friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has brought intense scrutiny on the president.
TikTok did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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