The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) just sent a sharp warning to X Corp (the platform we all knew as Twitter).
They called out X for not following key rules under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021.
India Warns X Corp
The government didn’t mess around; they gave X only 72 hours to file an action taken report. X needs to lay out exactly what steps it’s taking, explain what its chief compliance officer is actually doing, and show how it’s sticking to mandatory reporting under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
MeitY made it clear they’re very worried about reports of people using X’s AI tool, Grok, to spread obscene and sexually explicit content targeting women.
Government Cracks Down on X
The letter points out that some users have been twisting Grok’s AI features to make fake, degrading images and videos. This isn’t just about privacy, it’s about basic dignity. MeitY warned that letting this slide only encourages sexual harassment and chips away at important legal protections.
They told X to go back and do a full review of how Grok works, both on the tech side and in terms of governance, to stop Grok from generating illegal content. X must put strict user policies in place, suspend or kick off anyone who breaks the rules, and delete any offending content right away.
But, they also want X to preserve evidence, don’t just sweep things under the rug.
MeitY didn’t pull punches on the consequences: if X ignores this, it risks losing its legal protection under Section 79 of the IT Act. That could open the company up to prosecution under several laws, including the BNS, the Indecent Representation of Women Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The notice went out to other ministries, commissions, and state authorities as well. Basically, the government wants to show it’s serious about cracking down on AI-driven obscenity.
Priyanka Chaturvedi pens letter to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called on the government to step in and make sure X’s AI apps have proper safeguards to protect women. In her letter to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, she said there’s a disturbing trend on X, men using fake accounts to post women’s photos and using prompts to strip clothing or sexualize them through Grok’s AI.
Chaturvedi thanked the IT Minister for acting quickly and sending the warning to X. She pointed out that this isn’t just about people sharing stolen photos through fake accounts; women who post their own photos are getting targeted too.
She called it a gross misuse of AI and urged the minister to push X to build real safeguards so women can feel safe on the platform. What’s even more troubling, Chaturvedi said, is that Grok actually responds to these prompts and helps enable this kind of abuse.
