EU has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, amid controversy over its creation of sexual images of women and children.
The European Commission announced on the 26th that it will review whether the risks associated with Grok's functionality on X (formerly Twitter) have been properly assessed and mitigated, including the distribution of illegal content such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and sexual images.
According to the EU, these risks have already materialized, exposing EU citizens to serious harm, and it plans to review whether the obligations for risk assessment outlined in the Digital Services Act (DSA) have been properly complied with.
The deepfake creation controversy surrounding Grok is already under investigation by regulatory authorities in the United States, California, the UK's OfCom, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
In addition to this, the EU revealed that it will expand its existing investigation due to changes in X's recommendation algorithm based on Grok.
The EU has been investigating X since December 2023, reporting that its recommendation algorithm fails to effectively filter out misinformation and illegal content.
X, along with Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, is designated as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the DSA and is subject to regular scrutiny from the EU. Platforms violating the DSA may face fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover.
Last month, X was fined €120 million (approximately 205.7 billion KRW) for violating the DSA with its account verification and advertising policies.
WhatsApp has also been designated as a VLOP by the EU due to exceeding the threshold of over 45 million monthly users using its 'channels' feature. However, bi-directional messaging between individual users is not subject to DSA regulation.
The EU has demanded that Meta, the platform owner of WhatsApp, prepare assessments and mitigation measures for risks related to △infringement of human rights and freedom of expression △election manipulation △illegal content distribution by May. Currently, there are 26 VLOPs subject to these strict obligations.
The EU initiated an antitrust investigation last month after Meta equipped WhatsApp with its own AI chatbot, MetaAI, and blocked services from competing AI companies. Facebook and Instagram, also operated by Meta, are under investigation for policies targeting minors that may lead to addiction.