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Elon Musk’s Grok Faces Global Scrutiny Over Sexualised AI-Generated Images

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Governments and regulators across Europe, Asia and Oceania have condemned — and in some cases launched investigations into — sexually explicit images generated by Grok, the chatbot developed by xAI and integrated into X. The backlash has intensified pressure on the platform to demonstrate how it prevents and removes illegal content.

Late on Thursday, Grok said it would restrict image generation and editing features to paying subscribers only. Earlier this month, the chatbot acknowledged lapses in its safeguards after isolated cases in which it generated sexualised content, including depictions of minors in minimal clothing.
Elon Musk has said that users who create illegal content using Grok would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded such material directly.

Below are reactions from governments and regulators worldwide:

EUROPE
The European Commission extended a retention order requiring X to preserve all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026, amid concerns over AI-generated sexualised “undressing” images.

Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom said it had made urgent contact with X and xAI and would assess whether the service complies with obligations under the UK’s Online Safety Act.

In France, government ministers said they had referred explicit Grok-generated content circulating on X to prosecutors and alerted media regulator Arcom to review compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Germany’s media minister Wolfram Weimer urged the European Commission to take legal action, warning that the issue risked becoming the “industrialisation of sexual harassment.”

Italy’s data protection authority warned that generating “undressed” deepfake images of real people without consent could constitute serious privacy violations and, in some cases, criminal offences.

Swedish political leaders also condemned Grok-generated sexualised imagery after reports that content involving the country’s deputy prime minister had been created from a user prompt.

ASIA
India’s IT Ministry issued a formal notice to X on January 2 over alleged Grok-enabled creation or sharing of obscene images, ordering the content removed and demanding a report on remedial actions within 72 hours.

Malaysia’s communications regulator MCMC said it would summon X and open an investigation into the alleged misuse of Grok to generate sexualised “undressing” images, warning of potential offences under national law.

OCEANIA
Australia’s online safety regulator eSafety Commissioner said it was investigating Grok-generated sexualised deepfake imagery under its image-based abuse framework. It noted that while adult material was under review, examples involving children examined so far did not meet the legal threshold for child sexual abuse material under Australian law.

Musk’s xAI to Invest Over $20 Billion in Mississippi Data Center

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xAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, will invest more than $20 billion to build a large-scale data center in Southaven, Mississippi, state Governor Tate Reeves said on Thursday.

The investment comes as booming demand for generative AI drives tech companies to sharply expand computing infrastructure. Data centers have become a focal point for spending by AI startups and hyperscalers seeking to train increasingly powerful models.

According to the governor’s statement, xAI expects to begin operations at the Southaven data center in February 2026. Musk had previously announced on December 30 that xAI had acquired a data center named “MACROHARDRR,” saying the facility would lift the company’s total computing capacity to 2 gigawatts, though he did not disclose the investment size or location at the time.

The Southaven site is located near a power plant recently acquired by xAI and close to its existing data center footprint in Memphis, Tennessee, the statement said. Memphis is home to xAI’s flagship supercomputer cluster, Colossus, which the company has described as the largest in the world.

The expansion highlights xAI’s aggressive push to compete more directly with leading AI developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic, whose ChatGPT and Claude models dominate much of the current generative AI market.

xAI’s spending underscores the heavy cash demands of the AI race. Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday that the company burned $7.8 billion in cash during the first nine months of the year, reflecting the high cost of advanced data center hardware and large-scale model training.

Grok AI Floods X With Sexualized Images, Raising Global Alarm

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X’s built-in AI chatbot Grok has generated a wave of sexualized images of women — and in some cases minors — after users prompted the tool to digitally alter real photos, a Reuters investigation found.

One victim, Brazilian musician Julie Yukari, said Grok created near-nude images of her after users asked the bot to strip her clothing from a harmless photo. Similar incidents have appeared widely on X, with Reuters documenting dozens of successful requests to place women in highly revealing outfits. Reuters also identified several cases involving sexualized images of children.

The backlash has spread internationally. French ministers said the content was “manifestly illegal” and reported X to prosecutors and regulators, while India’s IT ministry warned the platform had failed to stop the generation of obscene material. U.S. regulators including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission declined to comment.

Experts said the outcome was foreseeable. AI watchdogs warned last year that Grok’s image tools could easily be abused to create non-consensual deepfakes. “This was entirely predictable and avoidable,” said Dani Pinter of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, blaming weak safeguards and content moderation.

X owner Elon Musk appeared to mock the controversy by responding with laughing emojis to AI-generated bikini images, including ones depicting himself. xAI, which develops Grok, previously dismissed reports of sexualized images of minors with the statement: “Legacy Media Lies.”