Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence assistant Grok has come under fire for generating sexualized images of people without their consent. The tool can now pull photos from the social media platform X, including images of real individuals, and digitally modify them to show them in lingerie, bikinis, or partially unclothed. X users have flagged growing concerns about this ability, particularly how it can be used to manipulate images of minors.
The controversy follows X rolling out an “Edit Image” option on photos, a feature that lets any user modify an image through text prompts without seeking permission from the person who originally posted it. Some users have reportedly used the tool to partially or completely strip clothing from images of women and even children. Since the feature was rolled out on Christmas Day, Grok’s X account has been inundated with requests seeking sexually explicit edits.
The platform is facing backlash from Europe, India and Malaysia. In India, the government has directed X to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content—particularly material generated by Grok—or face legal action.
The Indian IT ministry said on Jan. 2 that Grok AI, developed by X and integrated on the platform, was being misused by users to create fake accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene images or videos of women in a derogatory or vulgar manner.
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The ministry also added that the regulatory provisions under the IT Act and rules were being flouted by the platform, particularly in relation to obscene, indecent, vulgar, pornographic, pedophilic, or otherwise unlawful or harmful content.
The government mentioned that compliance with the IT Act and rules was not optional, and that the statutory exemptions under Section 79 of the IT Act (which deals with safe harbor and immunity from liability for online intermediaries) were conditional upon strict observance of due diligence obligations. It warned X that any failure to observe due diligence obligations shall result in the loss of the exemption from liability under Section 79 of the IT Act, and that the platform would also be liable for consequential action under other laws, including the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
UK, European Union, and Malaysian authorities have also issued warnings and taken action against Grok. Ofcom, UK’s independent communications regulator, in a recent social media post said: “We are aware of serious concerns raised about a feature on Grok on X that produces undressed images of people and sexualized images of children.”
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK. Based on their response, we will undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation,” Ofcom said.
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European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said this kind of content has “no place in Europe.” “This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting. This is how we see it, and this has no place in Europe. This is not the first time that Grok is generating such output,” he told reporters on Monday.
The Malaysian communications watchdog said Saturday it was investigating X users who violated laws prohibiting spreading “grossly offensive, obscene or indecent content.”
Musk had initially made light of the issue, responding with laugh-cry emojis to AI-generated images of well-known figures, including himself, shown wearing bikinis. Later, X’s safety handle said it would take action against illegal content on its platform including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) by removing it, and permanently suspending accounts, as well as working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
“Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” it had said, reiterating Musk’s stance on illegal content. However, it is yet to be known how effective these measures would be.