France and Malaysia have joined India in condemning Grok, an AI chatbot linked to Elon Musk, after it generated sexualized deepfake images of women and minors, prompting investigations and regulatory warnings across multiple countries.
Grok, developed by xAI and integrated into Musk’s social media platform X, issued an apology earlier this week through its official account. The post referred to an incident on 28 December 2025 in which the system generated and shared an AI image of two young girls, estimated to be between 12 and 16 years old, depicted in sexualized attire following a user prompt.
The statement said the content violated ethical standards and could breach US laws related to child sexual abuse material, adding that the incident reflected a failure in safeguards and that xAI is reviewing measures to prevent similar cases.
Questions Over Accountability
The apology did not specify who was taking responsibility. Albert Burneko of Defector wrote that Grok is not meaningfully an “I,” arguing that the statement lacked substance because the system itself cannot be held accountable for producing illegal material.
Separate reporting by Futurism found that Grok has been used not only to create nonconsensual pornographic images but also images depicting women being assaulted and sexually abused.
In response, Elon Musk said on Saturday that anyone using Grok to generate illegal content would face the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal material directly.
India Orders Action Within 72 Hours
Regulatory scrutiny has intensified. India’s IT ministry issued an order on Friday instructing X to restrict Grok from generating content described as obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, pedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under Indian law.
The order gave X 72 hours to respond, warning that failure to comply could result in the loss of “safe harbor” protections that limit the platform’s legal liability for user-generated content.
Investigations In France
French authorities also said they are taking steps. The Paris prosecutor’s office told Politico it will investigate the spread of sexually explicit deepfake images on X.
France’s digital affairs office said three government ministers have reported what they described as manifestly illegal content to both the prosecutor’s office and a government online surveillance platform, requesting its immediate removal.
Malaysian Regulator Raises Serious Concerns
In Malaysia, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said it has taken note with serious concern of public complaints regarding the misuse of AI tools on X.
In a statement, the commission said the complaints relate specifically to the digital manipulation of images of women and minors to produce indecent, grossly offensive, and otherwise harmful content. It added that it is currently investigating online harms linked to activity on the platform.
Featured image credits: Heute.at
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