ICO probe comes after weeks of public fury over non-consensual images and videos

A UK government body has announced a probe into AI tool Grok’s creation of “harmful” non-consensual sexualised images and videos.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had opened formal investigations into Elon Musk’s X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC) and X.AI LLC (X.AI).

The ICO said its enquiry would cover the “processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content.” 

At the time of writing, the world’s richest man had not made any public response to this news – but when he does, likely on his social media platform X, WM News will be sure to update this piece.

The investigation by the ICO comes after weeks of public outrage from people, including children and some MPs, whose images have been used to create sexualised content.

“The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public,” said the ICO in a statement.

The ICO probe comes after its public statement on January 7 confirming had contacted XIUC and X.AI “to seek urgent information about these reports.”

‘Reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions’

William Malcom, executive director for regulatory risk & innovation at the ICO, said: “The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people’s personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this. 

“Losing control of personal data in this way can cause immediate and significant harm. This is particularly the case where children are involved. 

“Our role is to address the data protection concerns at the centre of this, while recognising that other organisations also have important responsibilities. We are working closely with Ofcom and international regulators to ensure our roles are aligned and that people’s safety and privacy are protected. We will continue to work in partnership as part of our coordinated efforts to create trust in UK digital services.  

“Our investigation will assess whether XIUC and X.AI have complied with data protection law in the development and deployment of the Grok services, including the safeguards in place to protect people’s data rights. Where we find obligations have not been met, we will take action to protect the public.  

“We will not be providing any further comment whilst our investigation proceeds.”