The online network X has caused widespread anger after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by stripping their attire.
Several instances have been seen where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in inappropriate contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted picture through its AI image editing feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to create images and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of making sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing images of persons in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
