India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has intensified its scrutiny over the social media platform X owned by Elon Musk after reports that Grok AI was used to generate unacceptably obscene, sexually explicit content that was aimed at women.
Trigger: Deepfakes and Safeguard Failures
Grok’s image generation function was misused by users to produce non-consensual synthetic images and videos, such as placing bikinis on women and minors, thus infringing their dignity and violating laws like POCSO. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi raised the matter, leading to MeitY’s first notice on January 2, 2026, asking for a 72-hour action report.
Govt Calls X Response ‘Inadequate’
X gave a response stating its content policies and takedowns, but MeitY considered it insufficient, asking for details on the actions taken against Grok’s obscene content and the measures to be put in place to prevent it in the future. The deadline was moved to January 7, 5 PM; failure to comply will lead to loss of safe harbor under IT Act Section 79.
X and xAI’s Fixes
Grok admitted to “lapses in safeguards,” proceeded to remove the images, and conducted a further review of their filters to block nudity, sexualization, and illegal materials. An xAI engineer pointed out the improvements, but the controversies continue worldwide (EU, Malaysia probes).
Broader Implications
MeitY requires Grok framework assessment, user suspensions, and removal of evidence-preserved removals. In the midst of X’s legal battles against the IT Rules, this represents the imposition of more stringent AI regulation in India.
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