Ireland DPC Launches Grok AI Inquiry Over GDPR Breaches

Ireland's Data Protection Commission launched a large-scale inquiry on Tuesday into the social media platform X, focusing on allegations that its Grok artificial intelligence tool generated and disseminated child mistreatment material and nonconsensual intimate images of adults. The investigation targets the processing of personal data of European Economic Area subjects, including children, in violation of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.

The inquiry centers on content created using Grok's generative AI features through its dedicated account on X. Regulators notified X Internet Unlimited Company, the platform's European entity headquartered in Dublin, of the probe on Monday. The DPC aims to assess compliance with key GDPR requirements, such as lawful data processing, data protection by design and default, and conducting impact assessments for high-risk activities.

Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle stated that the DPC had been in discussions with the company since media reports surfaced several weeks ago about users prompting the Grok account to produce sexualized images of real individuals, including minors. "As the lead supervisory authority for XIUC...