Britain's privacy watchdog on Tuesday launched a formal investigation into Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualised images and video content.

The probe is into xAI and X Internet Unlimited Company - the Dublin-based data controller for X in the European Union or the European Economic Area, the Information Commissioner’s Office said in a statement.

The statement follows reports that Grok had been used to generate non‑consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children.

"The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public," the ICO said.

Separately, Britain's media regulator Ofcom said it would continue its own investigation into X. Governments and regulators around the world are cracking down on sexually explicit content generated by Grok.

-Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; writing by Muvija M; editing by James Davey and William James/Reuters