Centre issues notice to X over obscene content generated by Grok AI, seeks action within 72 hours 

The central government on Friday issued a notice to Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, flagging serious violations of India’s IT laws over the alleged circulation of obscene and sexually explicit content generated using its artificial intelligence tool, Grok. 

The notice from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) comes amid mounting outrage over the misuse of AI tools on social media to create and share derogatory images of women through fake and anonymous accounts. 

Concerns over women’s dignity and child safety 

In its notice, MeitY raised alarm over the alleged use of Grok to generate sexually explicit, derogatory and unlawful content, particularly targeting women and children. The ministry termed the issue a “grave violation” of dignity, privacy and digital safety, and pointed to serious gaps in X’s statutory due diligence and enforcement mechanisms under the Information Technology Act and the IT Rules. 

The government has directed X to immediately review Grok’s technical design and governance framework, remove all unlawful content, take action against offending users, and submit an Action Taken Report within 72 hours. 

“It is reiterated that non-compliance with the statutory requirements shall be viewed seriously and may result in strict legal consequences against your platform, its responsible officers and the users on the platform who violate the law,” the order warned, citing provisions under the IT Act, IT Rules, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). 

Priyanka Chaturvedi flags misuse of AI tools 

The government’s move follows a letter by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging immediate intervention to address the increasing misuse of AI tools to sexualise and “undress” women using unauthorised images on social media. 

“There have to be guardrails put in place by features such as Grok that do not violate women’s dignity. Big tech firms need to take the onus,” Chaturvedi wrote in a post on X, also calling for better societal education to curb such behaviour. 

The Shiv Sena (UBT) MP later thanked the government for the quick action on the matter. 

“I would take this opportunity to thank Hon IT Minister for promptly taking note of my letter and for issuing a letter to X platform in the regard of AI led grok generating problematic content of women based on prompts that disrespect woman’s dignity and violates their consent, further silencing them on these platforms,” she wrote.

MeitY said the misuse of AI systems in this manner could attract penal consequences under multiple Indian laws, reiterating that intermediaries are legally obligated to prevent the circulation of obscene, indecent and unlawful content. 

The notice to X comes days after MeitY issued an advisory to all social media intermediaries, urging tighter compliance with content moderation norms and stronger safeguards against the spread of obscene and unlawful material online. 

The ministry has maintained that platforms deploying generative AI tools must ensure robust oversight, transparency and accountability to prevent harm, particularly to women and minors.