The online platform X has provoked widespread anger after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of women by stripping their garments.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the system has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which answers X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of modify an posted picture through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The system has been condemned for allowing users to produce images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "depicting images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "necessary measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
