Follow us Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, is facing mounting criticism worldwide after its chatbot Grok was found to be producing sexually suggestive manipulated images of women and children, raising serious concerns about consent, safety and regulatory oversight. The issue surfaced when users on X discovered that Grok’s image-editing feature could be used to alter real photographs by digitally changing clothing or generating provocative versions of the images. By tagging Grok directly under posts, users were able to receive highly realistic edited images within minutes. Governments’ action across continents Several governments moved quickly in response. Indonesia became the first country to completely block access to Grok, with Malaysia implementing similar restrictions shortly afterwards. Indian authorities confirmed that X removed thousands of posts and disabled hundreds of user accounts following official objections. A government source said approximately 3,500 posts and 600 accounts were taken down. In the United Kingdom, media regulator Ofcom has initiated an investigation into whether X breached national laws governing harmful online content. Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the government would act decisively if the platform failed to prevent further misuse. France also escalated the matter. The country’s commissioner for children referred the case to prosecutors, media regulators and European Union institutions. French digital officials criticised xAI’s decision to restrict image generation to paid users, describing the move as inadequate. At the European level, the European Commission instructed X to preserve all internal data linked to Grok until the end of 2026. The platform has already been under scrutiny since 2023 over potential violations of EU digital regulations. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said protecting children and personal dignity could not be left solely to technology companies.