Elon Musk's Grok AI Chatbot Banned by 25% of European Companies Over Privacy, Misinformation Fears

Elon Musk's generative AI chatbot Grok is currently encountering widespread pushback throughout Europe. Based on a recent study by cybersecurity company Netskope, 25% of organizations in Europe have now blocked access to the AI tool because of increasing fears of privacy, data protection, and recurring misinformation errors.

Grok is the latest chatbot to be added to the blocklist by some European companies. However, its competitor ChatGPT and Google's Gemini have been blocked by only 9.8% and 9.2% of the firms, respectively.

Misinformation Fumbles Deter Grok's Legitimacy

Elon Musk’s Grok AI Chatbot Banned by 25% of European

The escalation in bans is directly related to Grok's contentious past record. CNBC highlights that the chatbot has been criticized for delivering lies and inflammatory remarks, such as propagating conspiracy theories regarding a so-called "white genocide" in South Africa and doubting the historical facts around the Holocaust. These events have utterly discredited its credibility as an AI tool, particularly in areas with stringent data and speech laws like the EU.

Security and compliance issues are now prompting most companies to rethink their AI tool stacks. Netskope's research suggests that Grok is being retired in favor of "more secure or better-aligned alternatives" in sectors across industries.

Privacy and Data Handling as an Increasing Priority

According to The Next Web, Netskope's Global Privacy and Data Protection Officer, Neil Thacker, said the bans reflect a larger trend in how businesses evaluate AI apps.

"Businesses are becoming aware that not all apps are the same in the way they handle data privacy, ownership of data that is shared with the app, or in how much detail they reveal about the way they train the model with any data that is shared within prompts," he said.

This attitude mirrors the increasing examination of AI technologies not only by their output but also by their data practices beneath the surface. The more embedded generative AI is in day-to-day operations, the more valued transparency, data management, and ethical model training are by businesses.

Stable Diffusion Leads the Block List, While ChatGPT Takes Adoption Lead

Surprisingly, Grok is not the most blocked AI app in Europe. That distinction goes to Stable Diffusion, the image generator built by UK-founded Stability AI. It is blocked by 41% of organizations because of persistent privacy and licensing concerns.

Despite its fame, ChatGPT is the most-used AI chatbot across Europe. The report concluded that 91% of European organizations utilize cloud-based generative AI tools, highlighting the speed with which the technology has been embraced in the workplace. Still, not all tools are used with equal trust.

Reputation Fallout: Musk's Influence Under Scrutiny

Grok's deteriorating reputation could also be attributed to broader issues surrounding Elon Musk himself. The fall of his "truth-seeking AI" is not only within his political ties with Donald Trump.

Apparently, the 52% year-on-year drop in Tesla sales is also affected. The brand harm will only grow worse now, given that Grok's usage in Europe has significantly declined.