Over the past few weeks, many women on X were shocked to discover that Grok, the platform’s AI chatbot, was complying with explicit user requests to digitally alter their photos to make them appear nearly naked. What began as isolated incidents quickly snowballed into a global controversy, raising serious concerns about consent, online safety, and AI misuse.
The circulation of these sexually explicit, AI-generated images triggered widespread outrage across countries, prompting governments to demand accountability from X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk. India emerged as one of the strongest voices pushing back, insisting that the platform comply with domestic digital laws and norms.
A troubling pattern soon became evident. Users were reportedly asking Grok to “remove school dresses” or “put her in a transparent mini-bikini” when uploading photos of women. Investigations found that Grok complied with many such requests, effectively enabling a spree of what critics called “digital undressing.” In several documented cases, the chatbot replaced clothing with flesh-toned or revealing outfits.
A Reuters analysis revealed that Grok fully complied with such requests in at least 21 instances. While some follow-up requests were ignored, the damage had already been done. The analysis also found that the targets included celebrities, politicians, ordinary women, men, and, alarmingly, even children. Reuters said X did not respond to its request for comment on instances involving minors.
As outrage mounted, multiple governments intervened. Earlier this month, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology sent a formal letter to X Corp., flagging the misuse of Grok to generate obscene and derogatory images of women. The government directed the platform to conduct a comprehensive review, remove violating content, and respond within 72 hours, warning that failure to comply could result in the loss of legal protections under India’s IT laws.
India was not alone. France referred X to prosecutors and regulators, calling the sexually explicit and sexist content “manifestly illegal.” Indonesia suspended Grok’s operations, while Malaysia and lawmakers in Brazil also sought action against the platform.
Amid the backlash, Elon Musk appeared to downplay the issue, even participating in a light-hearted exchange where Grok generated a bikini-clad image at his request. His response drew sharp criticism, with activists accusing X’s leadership of trivialising serious concerns around misogyny and digital abuse.
Facing mounting pressure, X restricted Grok’s image generation and editing features to paid subscribers. However, this move failed to calm critics, who argued that limiting harmful tools to paying users did not address the core issue of preventing abusive content. Officials in the UK and the European Union publicly criticised the step, calling it inadequate and insulting to victims of online sexual abuse.
Following sustained pressure from the Indian government, X eventually took decisive action. According to sources, the platform blocked more than 3,500 pieces of content and deleted over 600 accounts linked to the misuse of Grok. X also assured Indian authorities that it would operate in compliance with local online content laws, with officials indicating that the company acknowledged its lapse.
Despite these steps, scrutiny continues, with regulators and digital rights groups worldwide questioning whether platforms are doing enough to prevent AI-powered sexual exploitation and protect users from non-consensual image manipulation.