International Alarm and Regulatory Pressure
The growing volume of explicit AI-generated content has prompted concern from governments overseas. French ministers confirmed they had referred X to prosecutors and regulators, calling the material “sexual and sexist” and “manifestly illegal.” India’s information technology ministry sent a formal letter to X’s local office, stating the platform had failed to prevent the creation and spread of obscene content through its AI tools.
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission declined to comment, while the Federal Trade Commission said it would not weigh in.
How the Abuse Works
Reuters’ review suggests the misuse accelerated over a matter of days. During one 10-minute window on Friday, journalists counted more than 100 public attempts to prompt Grok to alter images so that people appeared to be wearing bikinis or other revealing clothing. Most targets were young women, though requests also included men, public figures, and even animals.
In at least 21 documented cases, Grok fully complied, producing images that replaced clothing with translucent or minimal swimwear. In other instances, the chatbot partially followed instructions, altering outfits but stopping short of full nudity.
One request reviewed by Reuters involved a photo of a person wearing what appeared to be a school uniform. The user initially asked Grok to remove the outfit, then escalated the request to demand a “very clear micro bikini.” Reuters could not confirm whether the final request was fulfilled before it disappeared from the platform.
