Global Backlash: Scrutinizing Elon Musk's xAI for Explicit Content

Amid growing global concerns, governments and regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of sexually explicit content produced by Elon Musk's xAI chatbot, Grok, on the platform X. This move seeks to address and curb the dissemination of illegal material through investigations, prohibitions, and demands for tightened safeguards.

Notable reactions have emerged since January, particularly from Europe, where the European Commission launched an investigation on January 26 into Grok's role in spreading potentially illegal content, including manipulated sexualized images, across the EU. In the UK, Ofcom is assessing whether Grok-created deepfakes violate the Online Safety Act, while the Information Commissioner's Office explores breaches of data protection laws due to concerns about child-related content.

Further afield, Asia is also taking action. For instance, India's IT ministry issued a directive to X in early January demanding the removal of obscene content, while Indonesia implemented site blocks to safeguard women and children under its strict anti-pornography laws. Meanwhile, xAI, in response to the backlash, has imposed restrictions such as limiting image editing for its users and blocking users from generating revealing images in specific legal jurisdictions.