New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a strong notice to X Corp (formerly Twitter) for failing to meet statutory due diligence responsibilities under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021. The government has directed the platform to submit a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) within 72 hours, outlining steps taken to ensure compliance, the role of its Chief Compliance Officer, and adherence to mandatory reporting under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
The ministry has expressed serious concern over growing reports that X’s Artificial Intelligence service ‘Grok’ is being misused to create and circulate obscene, indecent and sexually explicit content targeting women.
According to the notice, users are allegedly exploiting Grok’s generative capabilities to produce synthetic images and videos in a derogatory and offensive manner, violating women’s privacy and dignity. MeitY warned that such actions not only promote online sexual harassment but also erode essential legal safeguards meant to protect women.
The government has ordered X to carry out a comprehensive review of Grok’s technical systems and governance framework to ensure it does not enable the creation or distribution of unlawful content. The ministry further directed the platform to strictly enforce user policies, including suspension and termination of accounts violating rules, while ensuring immediate removal of offensive material without tampering with key evidence.
MeitY has cautioned that continued non-compliance could result in loss of safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, exposing X to legal liability. The platform may also face penal consequences under multiple Indian laws including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Indecent Representation of Women Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The notice has also been circulated to major ministries, national commissions, and state authorities, indicating a wider coordinated response against AI-enabled online obscenity.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi urged the Centre to intervene, alleging rising misuse of Grok to sexualise women online. In a letter to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, she highlighted that men were reportedly using fake accounts to upload women’s images and manipulate them using AI prompts to strip or sexualise them.
She further stated that even women posting their own photos are being targeted, calling the situation “gross misuse of AI” and urging the government to ensure strong built-in safeguards to protect women online. According to her, Grok is currently encouraging such behaviour by complying with such offensive requests, making intervention urgent and necessary.