Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk-owned xAI, is but once more drawing the ire of regulators around the globe amid rising backlash over the AI chatbot producing sexualised, non-consensual photographs of ladies and underage ladies.
After weeks of intense criticism and scrutiny, xAI introduced on Tuesday, January 6, that it has raised $20 billion in its newest funding spherical that includes distinguished traders reminiscent of Nvidia, Constancy Administration and Useful resource Firm, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and Valor Fairness Companions.
The Collection E funding spherical reportedly exceeded the AI startup’s preliminary $15 billion goal, based on a press launch by xAI by which it additionally touted Grok’s image-generation function often called Grok Think about as “lightning-fast” with “state-of-the-art multimodal understanding”
In direction of the tip of December 2025, a number of customers on X started commenting on photographs of individuals – often ladies – by tagging Grok and asking the chatbot to “put her in a bikini” or “take her costume off”. The AI chatbot, which auto-replies when tagged, complied with these consumer requests and generated non-consensual sexual photographs of each celebrities and non-celebrities, together with some who gave the impression to be younger youngsters.
In response, xAI has sought to shift the legal responsibility squarely on customers, warning that those that submit prompts asking Grok to generate unlawful content material will face the identical penalties as these importing unlawful content material on X.
“We take motion in opposition to unlawful content material on X, together with Youngster Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), by eradicating it, completely suspending accounts, and dealing with native governments and legislation enforcement as vital,” the platform’s security staff additional mentioned.
Nevertheless, the record of nations considering regulatory motion in opposition to X has continued to develop. Right here’s a take a look at how regulators throughout completely different areas have responded to the most recent Grok incident. Notably, lawmakers and regulatory our bodies in america, the place xAI is headquartered, are but to touch upon the problem.
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Malaysia
Malaysia’s digital regulator mentioned that it’s “presently investigating the net harms in X.”
In a press release, The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Fee mentioned that it has “taken notice with critical concern of public complaints concerning the misuse of synthetic intelligence (AI) instruments on the X platform, particularly the digital manipulation of photographs of ladies and minors to provide indecent, grossly offensive, and in any other case dangerous content material.”
France
Three French authorities ministers have reportedly flagged Grok’s outputs to the Paris prosecutor’s workplace, which has mentioned that it’s going to examine the proliferation of sexually express deepfakes on X. The nation’s digital affairs workplace mentioned that the ministers additionally reported the “manifestly unlawful content material” to a authorities on-line surveillance platform so as “to acquire its quick elimination”, based on a report by Politico.
Regulators have additionally been requested to determine whether or not the pictures violate the European Union’s Digital Companies Act (DSA), the legislative framework for governing the dealing with of content material by on-line intermediaries reminiscent of X.
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India
Being attentive to Grok being abused to generate objectionable photos and movies of ladies, with out their consent, the IT Ministry mentioned it has despatched a directive to X which accused the social media platform of not adhering to the nation’s legal guidelines and raised pink flags over X’s “critical failure” to implement safeguards.
“Grok AI developed by you and built-in and made out there on the X platform, is being misused by customers to create faux accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene photographs or movies of ladies in a derogatory or vulgar method as a way to indecently denigrate them,” the IT Ministry mentioned within the discover despatched to the social media firm’s chief compliance officer on Friday, January 2.
The IT Ministry directed X to submit an in depth motion taken report by Wednesday, January 7, masking particular technical and organisational measures adopted by X in relation to Grok AI, the function and oversight exercised by its India chief compliance officer, and motion taken by the corporate in opposition to offending content material, customers and accounts.
It additionally directed the corporate to undertake a complete technical, procedural and governance-level evaluate of Grok AI, together with its prompt-processing, output technology, and picture dealing with and security guardrails, “to make sure that the applying doesn’t generate, promote or facilitate content material which accommodates nudity, sexualisation, sexually express or in any other case illegal content material”.
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European Union
The European Fee on Monday, January 5, mentioned that the pictures of undressed ladies and kids being shared throughout e had been illegal and appalling. Stating that the Fee was conscious of the truth that X was providing a ‘spicy mode’ to customers, European Fee spokesperson Thomas Regnier mentioned “This isn’t spicy. That is unlawful. That is appalling. That is disgusting. That is how we see it, and this has no place in Europe.”
United Kingdom
British regulator Ofcom on Monday mentioned it has requested X to clarify how Grok was capable of produce undressed photographs of individuals and sexualised photographs of youngsters, and whether or not it was failing in its authorized responsibility to guard customers.
“We now have made pressing contact with X and xAI to grasp what steps they’ve taken to adjust to their authorized duties to guard customers within the UK,” a spokesperson mentioned. Liz Kendall, the UK’s expertise secretary, additionally condemned Grok’s deepfakes on Tuesday, January 6.
Creating or sharing non-consensual intimate photographs or youngster sexual abuse materials, together with AI-generated hyper-realistic sexual imagery, is prohibited in Britain, based on a report by Reuters. Moreover, social media platforms are legally obligated to take steps to cease customers from encountering unlawful content material and take it down after they turn out to be conscious of it.
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Germany
Germany is the most recent nation to name on the EU to take authorized motion in opposition to Musk’s X platform over Grok-generated, sexually express deepfakes. German media minister Wolfram Weimer urged the European Fee on Tuesday, January 6, to take authorized motion to cease what he referred to as the “industrialisation of sexual harassment” happening on X.
“What we’re at the moment observing on X appears to be like just like the industrialisation of sexual harassment. It’s now essential that the EU Fee continues to implement this (authorized framework) as rigorously because it has already begun,” Weimer was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Germany’s digital ministry, which is chargeable for DSA enforcement by way of the federal community regulator, mentioned it was dedicated to making sure compliance with the legislation and urged everybody to make use of its reporting rights.
“The problem at current is primarily to implement the varied – in some instances new – rights extra persistently and to really make use of them. Anybody who creates or distributes such photographs with out consent is committing a critical violation of private rights and could also be liable to prosecution in lots of instances,” a ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters.