Skip to content
HighOnCity Ottawa
BEYOND

Privacy watchdog releases Grok deepfake investigation results

Federal privacy commissioner examines sexual deepfakes created by Elon Musk's AI chatbot and shared on X, raising questions about consent and platform responsibility.

· 2 min read · HOC Newsroom
Privacy watchdog releases Grok deepfake investigation results
★ FREE NEWSLETTER
Get the best of Ottawa–Gatineau in your inbox

The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.

Canada's federal privacy commissioner is releasing findings today from an investigation into sexual deepfakes generated by Grok, Elon Musk's AI chatbot, and shared on the X social media platform.

Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne launched the probe in January after a wave of non-consensual intimate images created by the tool flooded X. The investigation examined whether the companies involved are complying with privacy law and whether they obtained valid consent to collect, use and disclose personal information to create deepfakes, including explicit content.

The timing reflects growing alarm internationally. The U.K., the European Union and California have all launched their own investigations into the phenomenon. In Canada, the federal government has introduced legislation that would criminalize non-consensual sexual deepfakes, signalling the urgency lawmakers feel around the issue.

The investigation arrives as tech companies scramble to manage the liability and reputational risk of AI systems they've released without clear guardrails. The findings could shape how platforms and AI developers approach consent, data protection and the tools they deploy to the public.