The EU Commission wants to take action against sexualizing AI images on X – and thereby shows that it will not be intimidated by the USA.
E It’s at least a step in the right direction: After users used the online platform X at the beginning of January flooded with AI-generated sexualized images of real people, especially womenthe EU Commission is now taking action. On Monday she initiated proceedings against the service of US billionaire Elon Musk.
The images were generated using its AI chatbot Grok. The investigation will examine whether the company properly assessed and mitigated Grok’s risks. The Center for Countering Digital Hate estimates Based on a sample, Grok generated around 3 million sexualized images in less than two weeks – including 23,000 of children.
This is not the first case against a Musk service: In December, the EU Commission fined Platform X 120 million euros imposed. At that time it was about a lack of transparency in advertising and insufficient access to data for researchers.
The punishment is not yet legally binding. But the EU Commission is apparently trying to send signals that it does not want to be intimidated by Trump and his repeated tariff threats for states that rely on regulating Big Tech.
However, there is a catch: If the EU Commission initiates proceedings, this will lead to damage Hastiraden and retaliatory announcements from Musk and the US government. But only completed procedures ensure fundamental change.
And the makers of the Digital Services Act, the EU law on which these procedures are based, apparently did not realize that there might be companies that were extremely stubborn in resisting regulation. How long such proceedings take if the accused company exhausts all deadlines and the matter ultimately ends up at the European Court of Justice is unclear.
It therefore remains important that national legislators take action. And recognize the sexualized AI images of real people in criminal law for what they are: sexualized violence.
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