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Rabat – Elon Musk is facing mounting global scrutiny after his AI chatbot Grok was accused of generating nonconsensual sexualised images of real women and children, prompting investigations and regulatory action across multiple countries.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced yesterday a formal investigation into xAI, the company behind Grok, citing what he described as an “avalanche” of sexually explicit AI-generated material used to harass people online.
The probe will examine whether xAI violated state or federal laws related to nonconsensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material.
The announcement came hours before Musk posted on X that he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.”
In the same post, he argued that Grok only produces images in response to user requests and that it refuses to generate illegal content, adding that any unexpected behavior caused by adversarial prompting is treated as a bug and fixed.
I not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.
Obviously, Grok does not spontaneously generate images, it does so only according to user requests.
When asked to generate images, it will refuse to produce anything illegal, as the operating principle… https://t.co/YBoqo7ZmEj
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2026
Bonta rejected these claims, saying the material in question did depict women and children in nude or sexually explicit situations and had indeed been weaponized for online harassment. He urged xAI to take immediate steps to stop the spread.
A divided public reaction
Public reaction has been sharply divided. Critics have called out what they describe as a selective denial while supporters have rallied behind Musk, dismissing the backlash as politically motivated.
Several users pointed out that Musk had been directly tagged in threads where sexualized images were circulating, while others dismissed the controversy as a conspiracy driven by regulators and critics seeking to censor X.
California Governor Gavin Newsom went further, accusing xAI of creating and hosting what he called “a breeding ground for predators.”
Pressure on xAI has been building internationally. Regulators in the UK, the European Union, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia have all taken action in recent days.
Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has opened a formal investigation under the Online Safety Act, while the UK government said it would support a potential ban if X failed to bring Grok under control.
Sir Keir Starmer told parliament that X could lose the right to self-regulate if it could not address the issue, according to the BBC.
Read also: X Under Fire as Grok AI Produces Sexualized Images of Women and Minors
The Telegraph has meanwhile reported that following the backlash, Grok began refusing requests to generate sexualized images of women, including placing them in bikinis or explicit poses.
Users attempting such prompts were met with refusals, with Grok citing concerns about non-consensual image manipulation and ongoing regulatory scrutiny.
However, the chatbot continued to generate similar images involving men or fictional subjects, and the standalone Grok app remained more permissive.
X had previously restricted Grok’s image generation feature to paying subscribers, a move that drew criticism from ministers who said it effectively turned image-based abuse into a premium service.
Research firm Copyleaks estimated that at the height of the issue, roughly one manipulated image was being posted to X every minute, with some samples showing thousands per hour.
Legal experts say Musk’s focus on denying the existence of explicit images of minors may reflect the harsher penalties attached to child sexual abuse material compared to nonconsensual adult imagery.
Under US law, distributing synthetic CSAM carries stiffer prison sentences. Critics argue that this narrow denial sidesteps broader concerns about Grok’s safety design.
In the US, the controversy has reignited debate over whether platforms are shielded from liability when AI systems generate harmful content.
Several lawmakers and legal scholars argue that protections for user-generated content do not extend to material created by AI tools themselves.
Neither xAI nor Musk has directly acknowledged shortcomings in Grok’s safeguards. As investigations continue on both sides of the Atlantic, regulators have signalled that fines, bans, or further legal action remain on the table if the company fails to prevent further abuse.
