Elon Musk’s Grok Under Global Spotlight for Controversial Sexualized AI Deepfakes
Governments and regulators from Europe to Asia are cracking down on sexually explicit content generated by Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot Grok on X, launching probes, imposing bans and demanding safeguards, in a growing global push to curb illegal material.
Here are some reactions from governments and regulators around the world made earlier in January.
EUROPE
The European Commission has extended a retention order sent to X last year, requiring the platform to retain and preserve all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026. This decision comes amid rising concerns over Grok-generated sexualized “undressed” images.
On Monday, Britain’s media regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into X to determine whether sexually intimate deepfakes produced by Grok violated its duty to protect people in the UK from content that could be illegal, under the country’s Online Safety Act framework.
In France, government ministers have referred sexually explicit Grok-generated content circulating on X to prosecutors and alerted French media regulator Arcom to ensure the platform complies with the European Union’s Digital Services Act.
Germany’s media minister, Wolfram Weimer, called on the European Commission to take legal action, asserting that EU rules provide tools to tackle illegal content and warning that the issue risks becoming the “industrialisation of sexual harassment.”
Italy’s data protection authority has cautioned that using AI tools to create “undressed” deepfake imagery of real individuals without consent could lead to serious privacy violations and, in some cases, criminal offenses.
Swedish political leaders have also condemned Grok-generated sexualized “undressing” content after reports indicated that imagery involving Sweden’s deputy prime minister was produced from a user prompt.
ASIA
India’s IT Ministry issued a formal notice to X on January 2 regarding the alleged creation or sharing of obscene sexualized images enabled by Grok. The ministry directed the platform to remove the content and provide a report on the actions taken within 72 hours.
Indonesia’s communications and digital ministry announced it had blocked access to Grok, with digital minister Meutya Hafid stating that the move aims to protect women and children from AI-generated fake pornographic content, in line with Indonesia’s strict anti‑pornography laws.
Malaysia has also announced a temporary ban on Grok, citing “repeated misuse” of the tool to generate “obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images,” including content involving women and minors.
OCEANIA
Australia’s online-safety regulator, eSafety, is investigating Grok-generated “digitally undressed” sexualized deepfake images. The agency is assessing adult material under its image-based abuse scheme and noted that current child-related examples reviewed did not meet the legal threshold for child sexual abuse material under Australian law.
HOW HAS xAI RESPONDED?
Grok’s developer, xAI—X’s parent company—has implemented restrictions that allow only paid subscribers to access image generation and editing features on the platform.
X asserts that it actively takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and collaborating with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
Musk has stated earlier on X that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content themselves.
(Reporting by Hugo Lhomedet in Gdansk and Sam Tabahriti in London, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
Related:
Governments and regulators from Europe to Asia are cracking down on sexually explicit content generated by Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot Grok on X, launching probes, imposing bans and demanding safeguards, in a growing global push to curb illegal material.
Here are some reactions from governments and regulators around the world made earlier in January.
EUROPE
The European Commission has extended a retention order sent to X last year, requiring the platform to retain and preserve all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026. This decision comes amid rising concerns over Grok-generated sexualized “undressed” images.
On Monday, Britain’s media regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into X to determine whether sexually intimate deepfakes produced by Grok violated its duty to protect people in the UK from content that could be illegal, under the country’s Online Safety Act framework.
In France, government ministers have referred sexually explicit Grok-generated content circulating on X to prosecutors and alerted French media regulator Arcom to ensure the platform complies with the European Union’s Digital Services Act.
Germany’s media minister, Wolfram Weimer, called on the European Commission to take legal action, asserting that EU rules provide tools to tackle illegal content and warning that the issue risks becoming the “industrialisation of sexual harassment.”
Italy’s data protection authority has cautioned that using AI tools to create “undressed” deepfake imagery of real individuals without consent could lead to serious privacy violations and, in some cases, criminal offenses.
Swedish political leaders have also condemned Grok-generated sexualized “undressing” content after reports indicated that imagery involving Sweden’s deputy prime minister was produced from a user prompt.
ASIA
India’s IT Ministry issued a formal notice to X on January 2 regarding the alleged creation or sharing of obscene sexualized images enabled by Grok. The ministry directed the platform to remove the content and provide a report on the actions taken within 72 hours.
Indonesia’s communications and digital ministry announced it had blocked access to Grok, with digital minister Meutya Hafid stating that the move aims to protect women and children from AI-generated fake pornographic content, in line with Indonesia’s strict anti‑pornography laws.
Malaysia has also announced a temporary ban on Grok, citing “repeated misuse” of the tool to generate “obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images,” including content involving women and minors.
OCEANIA
Australia’s online-safety regulator, eSafety, is investigating Grok-generated “digitally undressed” sexualized deepfake images. The agency is assessing adult material under its image-based abuse scheme and noted that current child-related examples reviewed did not meet the legal threshold for child sexual abuse material under Australian law.
HOW HAS xAI RESPONDED?
Grok’s developer, xAI—X’s parent company—has implemented restrictions that allow only paid subscribers to access image generation and editing features on the platform.
X asserts that it actively takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and collaborating with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
Musk has stated earlier on X that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content themselves.
(Reporting by Hugo Lhomedet in Gdansk and Sam Tabahriti in London, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
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