Elon Musk’s Grok Faces Global Crackdown over Sexualised AI Deepfakes
Governments and regulators across Europe, Asia, and beyond are taking action against sexually explicit and non-consensual imagery generated by Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot, Grok, on the X platform. Authorities have launched investigations, imposed temporary bans, and demanded urgent safeguards amid growing fears that AI-generated deepfakes are fuelling online sexual exploitation.
The European Commission, Britain’s Ofcom, and regulators in India, Indonesia, and Australia are among those leading the response. Officials say the sexualised “undressed” images produced by Grok represent serious privacy, safety, and legal concerns.
European Regulators Lead Probes
The European Commission has extended its retention order to X, requiring the company to preserve all Grok-related internal data and documents through 2026 while investigations continue. The directive follows mounting unease over deepfake content involving digitally “undressed” images of real individuals.
Britain’s media regulator Ofcom announced an inquiry into whether Grok’s output breaches the country’s Online Safety Act by exposing users to potentially illegal sexual material. In France, ministers referred explicit Grok-generated images circulating on X to prosecutors and alerted media watchdog Arcom to assess compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act.
Germany’s media minister Wolfram Weimer urged the European Commission to use its legal powers to combat the issue, warning that AI-driven image manipulation risked becoming the “industrialisation of sexual harassment.” Italy’s data protection authority also cautioned that creating or sharing such images without consent could constitute serious privacy violations or even criminal offences.
In Sweden, political leaders condemned Grok after reports that sexualised deepfakes of the country’s deputy prime minister had been generated from user prompts.
Asian Nations Tighten Controls
India’s IT Ministry issued a formal notice to X on 2 January, demanding the removal of obscene content allegedly produced or shared through Grok and requiring a compliance report within 72 hours. Indonesia’s communications ministry blocked access to Grok entirely, with Digital Minister Meutya Hafid citing the country’s strict anti-pornography laws and the need to protect women and children.
Malaysia’s communications regulator said it plans to pursue legal action against X, citing escalating user-safety risks linked to Grok’s features.
North America and Oceania Join the Response
In the United States, California’s governor and attorney general demanded explanations from xAI over the proliferation of non-consensual sexual content on X. Meanwhile, Australia’s eSafety regulator confirmed it was investigating Grok-generated “digitally undressed” images under its image-based abuse framework. The regulator said that while child-related examples reviewed so far did not meet the legal threshold for child sexual abuse material, the content raised serious concerns.
xAI Implements Restrictions amid Backlash
Following mounting criticism, xAI said on Wednesday it had restricted Grok’s image editing and generation capabilities for all users, with full access now limited to paying subscribers. Elon Musk stated that he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok — literally zero,” and reiterated that anyone using the chatbot to create illegal content would face the same consequences as those who upload it directly.
The controversy marks a major test for regulators struggling to keep pace with generative AI technologies and for Musk’s xAI, which faces increasing scrutiny over user safety and compliance with international content laws.
with inputs from Reuters
