EU Calls Grok’s Child Images ‘Illegal’ as Global Crackdown Intensifies

In brief

An EU spokesperson branded Grok’s sexualized child images as “illegal” in Monday comments.
- Global regulators are also launching probes as xAI shrugs off mounting outrage.
Repeated DSA violations and weak safeguards put X and Grok at serious legal risk.

The European Commission just told Elon Musk what everyone already knew: creating sexualized images of children isn’t “spicy.” It’s illegal.

“We are aware of the fact that X or Grok is now offering a ‘Spicy Mode’ showing explicit sexual content with some output generated with childlike images,” EU Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said Monday at a Brussels press conference. “This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting. This has no place in Europe.”

The statement marks an escalation in a controversy that, as Decrypt previously reported, has seen xAI’s chatbot generate non-consensual deepfakes of women, become a marketing tool for OnlyFans creators, and manipulate images for political purposes.

Regnier made clear this isn’t Grok’s first offense. The Commission previously sent information requests after the chatbot generated Holocaust denial content last year—another crime in multiple European countries.

“I think X is very well aware that we are very serious about DSA enforcement,” an EU spokesperson told Euronews, referencing the Digital Services Act. “They will remember the fine that they have received from us.”

That December fine was €120 million ($140 million)—the first ever penalty under the DSA. The Commission ruled X violated transparency requirements around its blue checkmark system, advertising repository, and data access for researchers. X remains under active DSA investigation for illegal content and disinformation.

Musk called the fine “bullshit” and said he would contest it.

France has also expanded a criminal investigation to include accusations that Grok generates child pornography. Britain’s Ofcom issued urgent demands Monday for X to explain how Grok produced these images. India’s IT ministry gave X until January 5 to provide a comprehensive safety review, and Malaysia opened its own investigation.

Dutch MEP Jeroen Lenaers cut to the heart of xAI’s approach. “If AI platforms choose to allow the generation of erotic content, robust, effective, and independently verifiable safeguards must be implemented in advance,” Lenaers said Tuesday.

Lenaers added that relying on the removal of child sexual abuse material after its creation is not enough because “the harm to victims has already been inflicted and cannot be undone.”

That’s exactly what happened. As Decrypt reported, Grok posted sexualized images of minors before removing them. The chatbot apologized last week for generating images of girls aged 12-16, calling the incidents “lapses in safeguards” By then, the damage was done.

xAI’s response to mounting international pressure? When Reuters asked for comment, the company replied: “Legacy media lies.”

Multiple regulatory investigations now threaten that strategy. The DSA allows fines up to 6% of global annual revenue for violations. X’s December fine was calculated using a lower percentage for first-time offenses. Repeat violations could cost exponentially more.

The political backlash from Washington after the first set of fines was immediate. Vice President JD Vance posted that the EU “should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the December DSA fine an “attack on the American people.”

But European regulators aren’t buying the free speech defense when it comes to child sexual abuse material. Regnier’s language Monday left no room for interpretation. This is not a debate over political censorship or differing content‑moderation cultures, but a matter of stopping the production and spread of illegal sexualized images of children.

xAI has yet to make substantive changes to Grok’s capabilities. The chatbot’s Media tab was disabled after it became overrun with sexualized images, but the core edit-image function and the ability to animate those photos remains active.