BRITAIN OPENS FORMAL PROBE OF X AND AI TOOL GROK AMID GROWING FRANCE-LED SCRUTINY

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By: Balogun Ibrahim

The UK Government Opens Formal Investigations Into Elon Musk’s X and Its Grok AI, With Data Protection and Harmful Content at the Forefront. Britain’s data privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has launched formal probes into X Internet Unlimited Company and X.AI over how they process personal data and the potential for Grok to generate harmful, sexualised image and video content, following reports it was used to make non‑consensual imagery, including involving children.

The moves come amid wider international scrutiny, including a separate French investigation into the platform and its AI tools.

The ICO Says Reports of Harmful Deepfakes Raise Serious UK Legal Concerns as It Probes X and Grok AI.

Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office has said the reported creation and circulation of non‑consensual and explicit imagery via Grok raises “serious concerns under UK data protection law” and poses a risk of significant public harm, prompting its formal investigation into whether personal data has been processed lawfully and if adequate safeguards were built into the AI’s design and deployment.

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The watchdog added that examining these risks is central to protecting people’s rights and holding organisations accountable as AI technology is rolled out — comments echoed by ICO Director William Malcolm, who described the complaints about Grok as “deeply troubling.”

“Where we find obligations (by XIUC and X.AI in Grok’s development and deployment) have not been met, we will take action to protect the public,” Malcolm said.

The UK’s ICO Says It Is Coordinating With Ofcom and Global Regulators to Safeguard Safety and Privacy as Scrutiny of X and Grok Intensifies.

Britain’s data protection watchdog said it is working closely with communications regulator Ofcom and international counterparts to align roles and ensure privacy and user safety are protected amid its probe into the Elon Musk‑owned platform’s AI tools.

Meanwhile, French authorities have raided the Paris offices of X as part of a separate investigation into allegations linked to Musk’s social media platform and its Grok AI, with prosecutors summoning Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary questioning in April.

The French probe involves a series of alleged offenses and reflects growing international scrutiny of the company.