X Under Fire over Grok Incidents

Regulators have put pressure on X to address the spread of sexualised images of people across the social media platform. The images were generated on demand by its in-built AI tool Grok.

The European Commission described the sharing of images of undressed women and children across X as unlawful and appalling, adding to concerns raised by politicians across the world. The issue relates to users asking the chatbot on X to alter real images to create a sexualised situation without consent. The social network previously described the functionality as spicy mode.

EC representative Thomas Regnier declared that it is very aware that X was offering the mode. “This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting. This is how we see it, and this has no place in Europe.” UK regulator Ofcom also hit out at X over the issue, demanding the social media company explain how Grok can produce such images of people and whether it was legally failing to protect its users.

Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, Ofcom said it is illegal to create or share intimate or sexually explicit images of people without their consent, a regulation which also covers AI deepfakes. Online companies are expected to take the necessary steps to counter such images and remove them as quickly as possible under the law. Regulators in India, France, and Malaysia have also raised concerns over the content.