Khaberni - The European Union is scrutinizing the behavior of Elon Musk's chatbot "Grook" "very seriously" after it created sexual images of people, including minors, on the social media platform "X".
European Commission spokesman Thomas Renee said at a press conference on Monday: "We recognize that X or Grook now offers a feature called 'Spicy Mode' that displays explicit sexual content with some outputs produced in the form of images resembling children. This is not just provocative content, this is illegal."
Some users of the X platform have asked "Grook" to digitally remove clothing from images—most of them of women—so that the pictures appear as if they are only in underwear or a bikini, according to a Bloomberg report seen by "Al Arabiya Business".
The spread of these images on a popular social media platform like "X" has raised concerns among regulatory bodies and online safety advocates around the world, with officials from India, Britain, and France among those who have condemned these posts.
Musk said, in a post on the X platform on Sunday, that the platform takes action against illegal content by deleting it and permanently suspending accounts as necessary, adding: "Anyone who uses Grook to create illegal content will face the same consequences as those who upload illegal content."
While most popular artificial intelligence models prohibit sexual images and videos, Elon Musk's company "xAI" has introduced "Grook" as more permissive. The system allows the display of images of partial nudity for adults and sexually suggestive images, even with a ban on explicit pornographic materials involving real people and sexual content involving minors.
In some countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, posting intimate fabricated materials created using deepfake technology of people without their consent is illegal. Drawing and enforcing these boundaries is a crucial test for the safety systems built into AI-generated image tools.
The apparent failure of the "xAI" company to implement effective controls has drawn condemnation from regulators around the world.
The British Media Regulatory Authority (Ofcom) said on Monday that it is aware of "serious concerns" about "Grook" features, and it has urgently contacted both the X platform company and "xAI" company to understand the steps they have taken to fulfill their legal obligations to protect users in the United Kingdom.
The French government accused "Grook" on Friday of producing clearly illegal sexual content on the X platform without the consent of the individuals, noting that this could violate the European Union's Digital Services Act, which requires large platforms to limit the risk of spreading illegal content.
The Indian Ministry of Information Technology has called for a comprehensive review of the security features in "Grook," and Malaysian authorities said they are investigating the matter after receiving complaints about "inappropriate" content published by the chatbot.
The X platform owned by Elon Musk is already under investigation under the European Union's Digital Services Act, and in December, it was fined 120 million euros (140 million dollars) for violations related to compliance with the law, marking the first penalty imposed under this controversial content monitoring law.
The focus of the conglomerate on American technology companies like "X" has drawn sharp criticism from the administration of President Donald Trump, which has claimed that European regulators are exercising censorship over freedom of speech.
