Ottawa (Rajeev Sharma): Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has expanded an ongoing investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X and its affiliated artificial intelligence firm xAI, following reports that the chatbot Grok is being used to generate and circulate explicit images of individuals without their consent.
Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne said the growing misuse of artificial intelligence to create deepfake images, including intimate content, poses a serious threat to personal privacy. He described the practice as a rapidly emerging concern with the potential to cause significant harm to individuals.
Given the seriousness of the issue, Dufresne said his office will broaden its inquiry to examine whether personal information was used without consent to create such content. The expanded probe will now include both X Corp., which operates the X platform, and xAI, the company responsible for developing Grok.
In recent weeks, Grok-generated sexual deepfakes circulating on X have sparked international criticism. Many of the images reportedly target women, and in some cases minors, raising alarms among privacy advocates and lawmakers. While deepfake technology has existed for years, critics argue that X made it more accessible by enabling direct image editing through the chatbot.
Responding to the backlash, X announced this week that it has introduced new safeguards to restrict Grok from editing images of real individuals in revealing clothing. The company said the updated rules apply to all users, including those with paid subscriptions. However, subscribers will still be able to edit images through the official Grok account on the platform, allowing X to track and act against potential misuse.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner confirmed it has formally notified both companies of the expanded investigation. The review will assess whether consent was obtained from individuals whose images or personal data may have been used to generate deepfake content, including explicit material. The office said recent policy changes by X would be considered as part of the investigation.
The initial probe into X was launched in February 2025, focusing on whether the platform complied with Canada’s federal privacy laws in how it collects, uses and discloses personal information to train artificial intelligence systems.
Meanwhile, international pressure over Grok continues to grow. Malaysia and Indonesia have announced blocks on the chatbot, and authorities in the United Kingdom are reportedly considering similar measures. In Canada, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon recently stated that the federal government is not planning to ban X, a comment publicly welcomed by Musk.
The expanded investigation underscores mounting global scrutiny over the use of generative AI and the lack of safeguards against misuse, particularly when it involves non-consensual and harmful content.
