Online platforms like X have “very clear obligations” to restrict illegal content, the EU’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen told Euronews’s flagship Europe Today morning show Tuesday, a day after the EU opened a formal investigation into the AI chatbot Grok for spreading sexualised images of real women and underage girls without their consent.
“Service providers have to have practices in place to make sure illegal content is not spread online,” the European Commission executive vice president said. Virkkunen added that the Commission is also analysing other risks linked to Grok beyond the now-modified image feature.
Grok is an AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company xAIand integrated into his social media platform X. On Monday, the Commission launched a formal investigation into Grok, following widespread concern over its image-editing function, which has been used to generate sexualised images of real women and underage girls without their consent. The tool generated millions of such images in a matter of weeks.
Virkkunen confirmed that the probe focuses on whether X has complied with its obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to assess and mitigate systemic risks.
“We want to investigate how X has been assessing and mitigating the risks,” she said. “Grok is now more and more integrated into X services, so it’s important to look at how those risks are being taken care of.”
If X is found to have breached the DSA, it could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual turnover. The platform has already been sanctioned once: last December, the Commission fined the company €120 million over misleading account verification tick marks and advertising practices.
Despite Musk’s outspoken criticism of EU regulation, Virkkunen said the Commission has been in ongoing contact with X.
“They have been in dialogue with our services,” she said. The Commission had already requested information from the company on how it assesses risks and ordered it to retain documents related to Grok and X ahead of the formal proceedings.
Pressure from Washington to roll back digital rules
The Grok investigation is unfolding against a backdrop of rising transatlantic tensions over EU tech rules. Also on Monday, the US-based Meta-owned platform WhatsApp was designated as a “Very Large Online Platform” under the DSA, subjecting it to the bloc’s strictest oversight.
At the same time, lobbying by the tech sector in Brussels has intensified, with spending estimated at more than €150 million a year, according to NGO research. US tech firms and the Trump administration have accused Brussels of overregulation, arguing that laws such as the DSA, the Digital Markets Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act stifle innovation.
Asked about pressure from Washington to roll back the rules, Virkkunen was firm.
“These digital rules are very important for Europeans,” she said. “We want to make sure our citizens can trust the technologies, that our digital environment is fair, transparent, democratic and safe.”
Balancing regulation and innovation
The EU is often portrayed as a rule-maker rather than an innovator, a critic brushed by Virkkunen who said that it was all about balance.
“Boosting innovation, but at the same time being aware of the risks,” she said.
Alongside regulation, Virkkunen highlighted efforts to make Europe more attractive for startups and scale-ups, including plans for a so-called “28th regime” — a legal framework designed to make it easier for companies to operate across the EU.
“We are simplifying processes and rules, creating a better single market and boosting capital markets so startups have access to finance,” she said. “Europe has everything it needs to be competitive.”
Asked about the new EU-India trade deal, Virkkunen said it was “great news for everybody,” pointing to the technology cooperation which would be a key pillar of the relationship, particularly when it comes to talent.
“India has a lot of ICT experts, and we are really lacking workforce in Europe,” Virkkunen said, arguing that closer ties could help attract skilled professionals to fill Europe’s digital skills gap.
