Elon Musk’s X is now facing the music in multiple countries – regulators in Europe, India and Malaysia have opened investigations into the social media platform following the misuse of its Grok chatbot to generate and circulate sexualized images of women and children. The probes come after a surge in AI-generated nonconsensual intimate imagery appeared on X, often derived from real photographs and distributed widely on the platform.
India has been one of the countries asserting a strong stance on the matter – earlier this month, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had issued a comprehensive notice to Elon Musk’s X platform, demanding urgent reforms to its Grok chatbot following widespread reports of users exploiting the tool to create obscene, sexually explicit, and derogatory synthetic images targeting women and children. Now, the social media company has been given an additional extension to January 7 to submit its detailed Action Taken Report.
In a formal notice, the ministry said Grok had been used to manipulate images of women and children through synthetic outputs and prompt-based image editing. Officials said these activities violate India’s Information Technology Act and related rules governing intermediary liability and user safety. The ministry warned that failure to comply could result in X losing its legal safe harbor protections under Section 79 of the IT Act. Such a move would expose the platform to broader civil and criminal liability under Indian law – if X is no longer considered an “intermediary,” it becomes legally responsible for every single post on its platform, essentially making it liable for millions of counts of copyright and obscenity violations simultaneously. Originally requiring an Action Taken Report (ATR) by January 5, MeitY extended the deadline to January 7 after X requested more time.
For those who need context, the controversy ignited when Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi highlighted a trend on X. In a letter to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw dated January 2, Chaturvedi described how users — often via fake accounts — were uploading women’s photos and prompting Grok to “minimize clothing” or sexualize them, resulting in non-consensual explicit imagery. “Have sought urgent attention and intervention of Hon. IT Minister to take the issue of increasing incidents of AI apps being prompted to sexualise and undress women by unauthorised use of their images on social media. There have to be guardrails put in place by features such as Grok that do not violate women’s dignity, big tech firms need to take the onus.
And I wish men indulging in such behaviour were educated better at their homes & schools so as to not become such sick perverts in their adulthood,” she wrote in a post on X.
Other countries are cracking down on the matter as well. Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission said it is investigating X and will summon company representatives to address compliance concerns. The regulator urged platforms operating in the country to strengthen safeguards around AI-driven tools, particularly those capable of image manipulation. Officials said platforms must align AI deployments with domestic safety standards, especially where vulnerable groups are involved. Similarly, in the US, advocacy group National Center on Sexual Exploitation has urged the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to open investigations.
The group said federal child protection laws can apply to AI-generated material when it depicts identifiable minors or sexual conduct involving children. British media regulator Ofcom said it has requested information from X and its parent company xAI regarding Grok’s safeguards and content moderation practices. In Brazil, a member of parliament said she has asked federal prosecutors and the national data protection authority to suspend Grok’s use pending the outcome of an investigation.
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