Elon Musk’s platform X announced new restrictions on Wednesday aimed at curbing misuse of its AI chatbot Grok, following global outrage over its ability to generate sexualised images of women and children.
The move comes after California’s attorney general opened an investigation into Musk’s AI company xAI, which developed Grok, while several countries either blocked access to the chatbot or launched their own probes.
X said it will “geoblock the ability” of Grok and X users to create or edit images of real people in bikinis, underwear, or similar attire in jurisdictions where such actions are illegal.
“We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis,” X’s safety team stated.
The company added that the restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers. As an added safeguard, image creation and editing via Grok will now be limited to paying customers only.
Regulatory Scrutiny
The European Commission, acting as the EU’s digital watchdog, said it had taken note of X’s new measures. “We will carefully assess these changes to make sure they effectively protect citizens in the EU,” spokesperson Thomas Regnier said.
Pressure had mounted on xAI after Grok’s controversial “Spicy Mode” feature allowed users to generate sexualised deepfakes with simple prompts such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the reports of non-consensual explicit material as “shocking.” He stressed: “We have zero tolerance for the AI-based creation and dissemination of nonconsensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material.”
Governor Gavin Newsom also condemned xAI’s role, calling its decision to allow sexually explicit deepfakes “vile” and urging accountability.
Civil society groups have intensified pressure, with 28 organisations sending open letters to Apple and Google CEOs urging them to ban Grok and X from their app stores.
- Indonesia became the first country to block Grok entirely, followed by Malaysia, whose communications minister said X’s measures were “not done in totality.” He added that restrictions could be lifted if harmful content is fully deactivated.
- India reported that X removed thousands of posts and hundreds of accounts after government complaints.
- In the UK, Ofcom announced a probe into whether X violated national law over the spread of sexualised images.
Findings
A recent analysis by Paris-based non-profit AI Forensics reviewed more than 20,000 Grok-generated images.
The study found that over half depicted individuals in minimal attire—most of them women—and about 2% appeared to be minors, underscoring the scale of the problem.
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