Ireland launches large-scale probe into X's Grok
By Josh White
Date: Tuesday 17 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - Ireland's data protection authority has launched a "large-scale" investigation into X over its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, amid concerns about the creation of non-consensual and sexualised images, including of minors, according to reports on Tuesday.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), which acts as the lead regulator for X in the European Union because the company's EU operations are based in Ireland, said it had opened a formal probe into Grok's processing of personal data and its potential to generate harmful sexualised images and videos.
Under the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the DPC has the power to impose fines of up to 4% of a company's global annual revenue.
According to Reuters, the inquiry was notified to X on Monday and would assess whether the company has complied with its obligations under GDPR in relation to the personal data processed by Grok.
The DPC said it had been engaging with X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC) for several weeks following media reports that users were able to prompt the Grok account on X to generate sexualised images of real people, including children.
Deputy commissioner Graham Doyle said the watchdog would examine X's compliance with its "fundamental obligations under the GDPR in relation to the matters at hand".
The Financial Times reported that the investigation would focus on the creation and publication of "potentially harmful" sexualised images that involved EU user data.
Grok, developed by Elon Musk's AI start-up xAI and integrated directly into X's social media feeds, had faced scrutiny after thousands of AI-generated deepfake images of women circulated on the platform in January, prompting backlash from users, safety experts and politicians.
Euronews noted that Grok previously introduced a feature known as 'Spicy Mode', which allowed users to manipulate images of women by digitally "undressing" them and generating deepfakes without consent.
Media analyses also found the chatbot often complied with requests to create sexually suggestive images of minors, including a 14-year-old actress, raising alarm among regulators.
X said last month it had introduced technological measures to curb the generation of explicit images and insisted it removes child sexual abuse material and non-consensual nudity.
However, Reuters reported that Grok continued to produce such images when prompted, despite the announced restrictions.
The Irish probe came alongside a series of actions by European authorities.
The European Commission opened a formal investigation in January under the Digital Services Act into whether Grok disseminates illegal content, while the UK's Information Commissioner's Office and French regulators had also launched or announced investigations.
French prosecutors had summoned Elon Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews as part of a broader inquiry into X's algorithms and the spread of AI-generated sexual abuse material.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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