X could face significant financial penalties and 'heightened' regulatory scrutiny

In January, minister of state for AI Niamh Smyth sought a meeting with X officials regarding 'serious ongoing concerns about the sharing of non-consensual intimate images and the generation of child sexual abuse material on the X platform and through Grok'. File photo

Social media platform X could face significant financial penalties and “heightened” regulatory scrutiny, with its AI tool Grok seen as a “key test case” for enforcement, a ministerial briefing has noted.

The details are included in an internal document compiled by IDA Ireland for minister of state for AI Niamh Smyth, which was released under the Freedom of Information Act.

In January, Ms Smyth sought a meeting with X officials regarding "serious ongoing concerns about the sharing of non-consensual intimate images and the generation of child sexual abuse material on the X platform and through Grok".

X told the minister it takes "incidents affecting children very seriously and maintain strict policies and robust enforcement measures to prevent the spread of violative content that could harm minors". 

The IDA has maintained a "good relationship" with X, Ms Smyth was told in a briefing document.  

However, the Grok controversy has had a “notable impact” on Ireland as it is the European regulatory hub for major tech companies, including X.

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The Data Protection Commission (DPC) opened an inquiry into X in April 2025 to assess whether publicly accessible posts from EU/EEA users were lawfully processed to train Grok’s large language models, it said.

The European Commission and the DPC also launched formal proceedings following concerns that Grok generated non-consensual, sexualised deepfake content.

UK authorities have also opened investigations into potential breaches of data protection and online safety obligations.

“Collectively, these actions expose X to significant financial penalties, mandatory product changes, and heightened regulatory oversight of AI deployment in Europe, positioning Grok as a key test case for the enforcement of AI and platform regulation.”