Social media platform X has deleted more than 600 accounts and blocked thousands of posts amid outrage over generation of obscene content The Grok chatbot used within X had sparked global backlash after creating sexualised deepfakes on command from users. The update came days after the Elon Musk-owned company was asked to submit a detailed compliance report on actions taken to prevent Grok AI from generating obscene and sexually explicit content.
Multiple media reports quoting government sources said X had “admitted its mistake” and agreed to comply with Indian laws. More than 600 accounts were reportedly deleted, and around 3500 pieces of content blocked on X. The platform also assured that it would not allow obscene imagery going forward.
“The social media platform ‘X’ has admitted its mistake and stated that it will comply with Indian law. Around 3,500 pieces of content were blocked, and over 600 accounts were deleted. Going forward, X will not allow obscene imagery,” news agency ANI quoted government sources as saying.
ALSO READTamil Nadu Rains: Heavy downpour in several districts, IMD issues orange alert – See full forecast
Video shows terrifying moment car jumps divider, crashes in restaurant wall in Bengaluru | WATCH
Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi had first flagged the horrifying new trend in a letter to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on January 1 — seeking decisive action against X and safeguards against AI-driven tools. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology subsequently wrote to X over its “failure to observe statutory due diligence obligations” under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and other relevant laws. It also sought an Action Taken Report towards immediate compliance for prevention of hosting, generation and uploading of obscene, nude, indecent and sexually explicit content “through the misuse of AI-based services like ‘Grok’ and xAI’s other services”.
What is the issue?
Users had been able to directly ask the chatbot for edited photos on X — including calls to remove items of clothing or put people into sexualised poses. This was often done without their consent and subsequently published in Grok replies on the social media platform. The problem had escalated in recent months — drawing widespread backlash from around the globe.
Grok told X users on Friday that image generation and editing features were now available only to paying subscribers. The move appeared to have stopped the generation and automatic upload of such images in response to a user post or comment on the social media site. But X users were still able to create sexualized images using the Grok tab — where people interact directly with the chatbot within the social media platform — and then post the images on their own. The standalone Grok app (which operates separately from X) was also still allowing users to generate images without a subscription.
ALSO READTrolled over ‘AIQ’, Delhi CM targets AAP with a Congress reminder: ‘Those who swore on their children…’
Ahead of PMC polls, Ajit Pawar says Pune losing Rs 900 cr monthly due to traffic – He explains how
‘Shameful use of AI’
Chaturvedi has since criticised the social media platform for restricting problematic image generation rather than stopping it altogether. She alleged that the move effectively allows unauthorised misuse of images of women and children — putting them at risk. She said the platform appears to be monetising reprehensible behaviour under the guise of creativity and innovation, calling it a ‘shameful use of AI.’
“It is unfortunate to see how, instead of altogether stopping problematic, sexualised image generation through Grok, the platform has restricted its use to paid users. So if you show the platform the money, they won’t care about the guidelines or guardrails honey. This effectively means that women or children images can be up for unauthorised misuse by perverts. This isn’t creating a safe space for women, but rather @XCorpIndia monetising this reprehensible pervert behaviour under the garb of creativity and innovation. Shameful use of AI,” she wrote on X. |
