UK Data Watchdog Probes Musk's X Over Surge Of AI-Generated Abusive Images; New Mexico AG Vows Action

Jan 8•2 min read

FILE PHOTO: xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration created on February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has asked X and its owner xAI to explain how they are complying with data protection laws after reports that Grok has generated sexually abusive images of women. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said Grok is among AI platforms lacking safeguards and vowed to "aggressively police" the space. Officials worldwide, including Germany’s media minister, expressed alarm, while U.S. federal reaction has been comparatively muted. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children urged tech firms to prevent their tools from sexualizing or exploiting children.

WASHINGTON/LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has asked Elon Musk’s social platform X and its parent company xAI to explain how they are complying with UK data protection laws after reports that Grok, X’s built-in artificial intelligence chatbot, has been producing sexually abusive, hyper‑realistic images of real women.

Regulator Seeks Clarity

The ICO said it had contacted X and xAI to seek clarity on the measures they have in place to protect individuals’ rights under UK data protection law, adding that published reports raised "serious concerns" about the chatbot’s outputs.

US State Official Sounds Alarm

In New Mexico, State Attorney General Raul Torrez accused Grok of being among several AI platforms "which lack basic safeguards to ensure that their users do not violate the dignity and privacy rights of others, especially children." Torrez said he was "extremely concerned" by the images and pledged to "aggressively police this space."

"We have contacted X and xAI to seek clarity on the measures they have in place to comply with UK data protection law and protect individuals' rights," the ICO said.

xAI did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment about the ICO inquiry or Torrez's remarks.

Wider Backlash Over Non-Consensual Imagery

Since Grok began responding to prompts that effectively strip people in photos down to skimpy bikinis or lingerie, a wave of hyper-realistic, sexually degrading images of real women has proliferated across X.

Officials and commentators worldwide have voiced disgust. Germany's media minister told Reuters that what he was seeing on the platform "looks like the industrialisation of sexual harassment." In the United States, however, the official response at the federal level has been relatively muted; federal officials contacted by Reuters either declined to comment or did not reply.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the largest child protection organisation in the United States, said technology companies "have a responsibility to prevent their tools from being used to sexualize or exploit children." The centre's statement did not specifically mention Grok, X, or Musk.

(Reporting by Raphael Satter and William James; Editing by Paul Sandle and Lincoln Feast)

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