Irish DPC opens GDPR investigation into X over non-consensual sexual imagery
17/02/2026 | Data Protection Commission
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has announced that it has launched a formal investigation into X's AI chatbot, Grok, due to concerns about the processing of personal data used for generating non-consensual sexual images.
The DPC clarified that the investigation aims to determine whether the company has met its lawful processing obligations under Articles 5 and 6 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, the investigation will seek to determine X's compliance with Article 25, which addresses Data Protection by Design and by Default, as well as the requirement to carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) under Article 35.
In a statement, Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said: "The DPC has been engaging with [X] since media reports first emerged a number of weeks ago concerning the alleged ability of X users to prompt the @Grok account on X to generate sexualised images of real people, including children."
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