72-Hour Ultimatum To Elon Musk's X: Govt Issues Notice Over Grok's AI-Generated Sexually Explicit Content

New Delhi: The central government has taken a strong stance against Elon Musk's social media platform X, over its alleged failure to curb the misuse of its AI tool Grok in the context of explicit and obscene content. According to reports, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a notice to X over serious lapses in statutory due diligence under the IT Act and IT Rules. The government's action came after reports emerged that Grok was being used to generate and circulate sexually explicit and derogatory content, particularly targeting women and children.

In its notice, the Union government raised concerns centred around the grave violation of dignity, privacy, and digital safety caused by such obscene content. MeitY has directed X to immediately review Grok's technical and governance framework, remove all unlawful content, and take action against offending users. The platform has been given 72 hours to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR), failing which it may face strict action under multiple cyber, criminal, and child protection laws.

Pertinently, X has faced serious scrutiny previously as well over its AI-powered features. Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi had written to MeitY Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, seeking urgent intervention to ensure safeguards are built into AI apps to prevent such misuse.

Controversy Related To Grok

Grok, X's AI chatbot, has been accused of generating sexually explicit and derogatory content, particularly targeting women and children. The platform's ‘Spicy’ mode, which allows users to produce sexually suggestive and semi-nude outputs, has come under fire. The experts have stated that such features are being misused to create and share non-consensual intimate images, violating individuals' privacy and dignity.

MeitY has warned X that continued non-compliance with the IT Act and IT Rules could lead to the loss of safe harbour protections and invite strict action under applicable laws. The ministry has stressed that social media platforms must take responsibility for the content they host and ensure that their AI-powered features are not misused to harm others.