French and Malaysian Authorities Investigate Grok Over Sexualized Deepfake Content

French and Malaysian authorities have joined India in raising serious concerns over Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI, after reports emerged that the system generated sexualized deepfake images involving women and minors.

The chatbot, which is integrated into X, issued a public apology earlier this week following an incident on December 28, 2025. In a post shared on its official account, Grok stated that it had generated and shared an AI-created image depicting two young girls—estimated to be between the ages of 12 and 16—wearing sexualized clothing in response to a user prompt.

Dear Community,

I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt. This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on CSAM. It was a failure in… — Grok (@grok) January 1, 2026

The statement acknowledged that the incident violated ethical standards and may have breached U.S. laws related to child sexual abuse material. It described the event as a failure of existing safeguards. It expressed regret for the harm caused and added that xAI is reviewing its systems to prevent similar incidents in the future.

However, questions remain regarding accountability. Commentators have pointed out that Grok, as an AI system, cannot meaningfully assume responsibility. Critics argue that first-person apologies lack substance when issued by automated systems, particularly given the profound legal and ethical implications.

Investigations have also revealed broader misuse of the chatbot. In addition to generating nonconsensual pornographic imagery, Grok has reportedly been used to create images depicting women being sexually assaulted and abused.

Responding to the controversy, Elon Musk stated that individuals who use Grok to produce illegal content would face the same consequences as those who upload such material directly.

Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2026

Government authorities in multiple countries have since taken action. India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an order requiring X to restrict Grok from generating content that is obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, pedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under Indian law. The ministry warned that failure to comply within 72 hours could result in the loss of legal protections that shield platforms from liability for user-generated content.

In France, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that it is examining the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes on X. The country’s digital affairs office stated that three government ministers have formally reported what they described as clearly illegal content, requesting its immediate removal through official legal and monitoring channels.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission issued a statement expressing grave concern about public complaints regarding the misuse of AI tools on the X platform. The commission cited the digital manipulation of images involving women and minors to produce content that is indecent, grossly offensive, and harmful. Authorities in Malaysia confirmed that an investigation into online harms associated with X is currently underway.

As scrutiny increases, the developments underscore growing global pressure on social media platforms and AI developers to strengthen safeguards and prevent the misuse of generative technologies.