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Germany Plans New Measures to Curb Harmful AI Image Manipulation

/in /tarafından

Germany’s justice ministry said on Friday it is preparing measures that would allow authorities to more effectively combat the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate images in ways that violate personal rights.

The move comes amid growing scrutiny in Europe over AI-generated imagery, including investigations into Grok, the built-in chatbot on X owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Grok has faced criticism for its so-called “spicy mode,” which allows users to generate sexually explicit images.

A Reuters investigation found that the chatbot’s image generation tools were being used to create images of women and children in minimal clothing, often without the consent of the individuals depicted. Germany’s media minister earlier this week urged the European Commission to take legal action to halt what he described as the “industrialisation of sexual harassment” on X.

Speaking at a regular government press conference, justice ministry spokesperson Anna-Lena Beckfeld said the government was preparing to address the issue through domestic legal channels.

“It is unacceptable that manipulation on a large scale is being used for systematic violations of personal rights,” Beckfeld said. “We therefore want to ensure that criminal law can be used more effectively to combat this.”

She said the ministry is working on tighter regulation of deepfakes and plans to introduce legislation targeting digital violence, aimed at better supporting victims. The goal, she added, is to make it easier for individuals to take direct action against violations of their rights online.

Beckfeld said concrete proposals would be presented in the near future but declined to provide further details at this stage.

After initially dismissing concerns over Grok’s image-generation features, xAI has since restricted the function to paid subscribers. Musk said last week that anyone using the chatbot to create illegal content would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded such material directly.

Grok AI Floods X With Sexualized Images, Raising Global Alarm

/in /tarafından

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.”

Musk’s X Fined in Canada Over Failure to Remove Intimate Image

/in /tarafından

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has been fined C$100,000 ($72,307) by a Canadian tribunal for failing to remove a non-consensual intimate image, marking the first such penalty against an internet intermediary under British Columbia’s Intimate Image Protection Act.

Case Background

  • The Civil Resolution Tribunal first ruled in March that X must delete and remove the image of a woman identified as “TR”.

  • Instead of removing it, X geofenced the content, blocking it in Canada but keeping it visible worldwide.

  • Tribunal Vice Chair Eric Regehr rejected X’s argument that it lacked authority outside British Columbia, stating the order was straightforward: remove the image.

Tribunal’s Decision

  • Regehr said X’s partial compliance left the victim exposed:

    “She lives in the knowledge that the vast majority of the world’s population can still see the intimate image on X.”

  • The fine imposed was the maximum allowed, with the option for the woman to request additional daily penalties of up to C$5,000 if noncompliance continues.

  • Compensation for the woman’s time was denied, partly due to AI-generated errors in her submissions.

Broader Implications

  • The ruling highlights growing global pressure on platforms like X to act against abusive and exploitative content.

  • British Columbia’s Ministry of Attorney General said it expects X to comply and pay fines, stressing it does not anticipate difficulties in enforcement.

  • X and its legal counsel did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.