Spain asks to investigate X’s AI for alleged child pornography

As explained this Wednesday by sources from the Rego department, Grok would have generated, at the request of users, material of sexual violence against minors, “a practice that cannot be understood as a neutral use of technology and that could constitute a crime of child pornography”, included in the Penal Code of Spain.

It could also be a crime against moral integrity, also included in the Penal Code.

For the Government of Spain, these are practices that seriously violate the dignity, privacy and fundamental rights of children and adolescents in the digital environment.

In the letter sent to the Prosecutor’s Office, the Minister of Youth and Children refers to a 2024 ruling from the Badajoz Juvenile Court, in western Spain, in which several people were convicted for the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate images of girls and adolescents.

This resolution recognizes these practices as a form of digital violence, classified as the crime of child pornography and against moral integrity, says the person in charge of Youth and Children in the document sent to the Prosecutor’s Office.

“We are facing a violation of fundamental rights,” said Rego, who stressed that “it is essential that the Prosecutor’s Office analyzes these very serious events and promotes the necessary actions to guarantee the protection of children also on the Internet” and put a stop to practices that threaten their dignity and their free and safe development in the digital space.

Currently, Congress is processing an organic law for the protection of minors in digital environments, promoted by the Ministry of Youth and Children together with other ministries.