For the previous two weeks, X has been flooded with AI-manipulated nude pictures, created by the Grok AI chatbot. An alarming vary of girls have been affected by the non-consensual nudes, together with distinguished fashions and actresses, in addition to news figures, crime victims, and even world leaders.
A December 31st research paper from Copyleaks estimated roughly one picture was being posted every minute, however later exams discovered far more. A pattern gathered from January fifth to sixth discovered 6,700 per hour over the 24-hour period.
However whereas public figures from world wide have decried the selection to launch the mannequin with out safeguards, there are few clear mechanisms for regulators hoping to rein in Elon Musk’s new image-manipulating system. The outcome has change into a painful lesson within the limits of tech regulation — and a forward-looking problem for regulators hoping to make a mark.
Unsurprisingly, essentially the most aggressive motion has come from the European Fee, which on Thursday ordered xAI to retain all documents associated to its Grok chatbot. The transfer doesn’t essentially imply the fee has opened up a brand new investigation, but it surely’s a typical precursor to such motion. It’s notably ominous given recent reporting from CNN that implies Elon Musk could have personally intervened to forestall safeguards from being positioned on what pictures could possibly be generated by Grok.
It’s unclear whether or not X has made any technical modifications to the Grok mannequin, though the general public media tab for Grok’s X account has been eliminated. In an announcement, the corporate particularly denounced using AI instruments to supply baby sexual imagery. “Anybody utilizing or prompting Grok to make unlawful content material will endure the identical penalties as in the event that they add unlawful content material,” the X Security account posted on January 3rd, echoing a earlier tweet by Elon Musk.
Within the meantime, regulators world wide have issued stern warnings. The UK’s Ofcom issued a statement on Monday, saying it was in contact with xAI and “will undertake a swift evaluation to find out whether or not there are potential compliance points that warrant investigation.” In a radio interview on Thursday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer known as the phenomenon “disgraceful” and “disgusting,” saying “Ofcom has our full help to take motion in relation to this.”
In a post on LinkedIn, Australian eSafety commissioner Julie Inman-Grant mentioned her workplace had acquired a doubling in complaints associated to Grok since late 2025. However Inman-Grant stopped wanting taking motion towards xAI, saying solely, “We’ll use the vary of regulatory instruments at our disposal to analyze and take applicable motion.”
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By far the most important market to threaten motion is India, the place Grok was the topic of a proper criticism from a member of Parliament. On January, India’s communications regulator MeitY ordered X to handle the problem and submit an “action-taken” report inside 72 hours — a deadline that was subsequently prolonged by 48 hours. Whereas a report was submitted to the regulator on January 7th, it’s unclear whether or not MeitY shall be happy with the response. If not, X might lose its protected harbor standing in India, a probably critical limitation on its skill to function inside the nation.
