X responds to MeitY notice on Grok misuse; Govt to seek further clarifications

Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has submitted its response to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) after the government flagged instances of sexually explicit content allegedly generated by its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok. However, officials familiar with the matter said the government is not fully satisfied with the explanations provided and is likely to seek additional details from the company.

MeitY had sought an action taken report from X after raising concerns over the nature of certain responses generated by Grok. In its submission, X has attributed the issue primarily to misuse by users rather than any systemic failure or design flaw in the platform, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.

The company has assured the government that it will initiate corrective measures, including the suspension and removal of accounts found to be violating its platform policies if such behaviour continues. X has maintained that it is committed to addressing misuse while ensuring compliance with Indian laws.

Government officials said MeitY is currently examining the response and will decide on the next course of action after a detailed review. The ministry is expected to seek further clarifications from X, particularly on safeguards deployed to prevent recurrence of such incidents and the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms.

The issue came into sharp focus after users were found prompting Grok to morph photographs of women and children into sexually compromising images, which were then circulated widely on the platform without consent. The activity reportedly escalated around New Year’s Eve, triggering outrage and raising serious concerns around online safety, privacy violations and AI-enabled sexual abuse.

Following reports of misuse, Grok said it had restricted certain features. “xAI has implemented strict guidelines to prevent Grok from generating explicit or non-consensual content,” the AI tool said in an automated response to CNBC-TV18, adding that it had “hidden the media feature and encourage reporting violations via X”.

Earlier, the Indian government had given X 72 hours to remove all “unlawful content” generated using Grok and submit a detailed compliance report as part of multiple directions issued to ensure women’s safety on digital platforms.

Speaking earlier to CNBC-TV18, S Krishnan, Secretary at MeitY, cautioned platforms against evading responsibility. “They cannot escape from their duty or liability simply by pleading that they have Safe Harbour under Section 79(1) of the IT Act,” he said.

Officials indicated that regulatory action will depend on whether X is able to demonstrate robust preventive controls and effective enforcement going forward.