Grok Under Global Scrutiny: What’s driving investigations in India, Europe and Malaysia?

Indian authorities have launched a probe into Elon Musk-owned social media platform X after its AI chatbot, Grok, was found generating sexually explicit images of women and children. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a notice to X on 2 January, demanding the immediate removal of all vulgar, obscene, and unlawful content created by Grok within 72 hours, warning of strict action if the platform failed to comply.

According to MeitY, the images produced by Grok violate the dignity, privacy, and safety of women and children, and contribute to normalising sexual harassment and exploitation in digital spaces. The ministry emphasized that such content undermines the statutory due diligence obligations that intermediaries like X are legally required to follow in India. X has been instructed to act against offending content, users, and accounts, and submit a detailed action-taken report within three days.

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The controversy erupted after users increasingly exploited Grok’s “edit-image” feature, which had been introduced before Christmas, to create sexualised depictions of women and minors. X has previously referred to similar functionalities as “spicy mode,” but authorities and rights groups argue that the outputs clearly cross legal and ethical boundaries.

In response, X issued a statement assuring that it would remove the offending images, permanently ban accounts responsible for uploading obscene material, and cooperate with government authorities as needed. Elon Musk reinforced this stance, warning that anyone using Grok to produce illegal content would face the same consequences as those uploading unlawful material directly. Bloomberg reported that some images violating the platform’s own child protection and acceptable-use policies have already been taken down.

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The controversy is not limited to India. The European Commission called Grok’s “spicy mode” illegal and unacceptable, while UK regulator Ofcom has requested details from X on how such images were generated and whether the company failed in its legal duties to protect users. France also highlighted that Grok-generated content may breach the European Union’s Digital Services Act.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s authorities have initiated a probe, with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) summoning company representatives. MCMC emphasized that all platforms accessible in Malaysia must ensure AI-powered features, chatbots, and image manipulation tools comply with local laws and online safety standards.