Grok’s deepfake scandal has sparked global scrutiny, with US senators and regulators in the UK, India, and Malaysia pressuring X to respond swiftly.

Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images.

In response to slow movement from X's teams, countries have begun tamping down access to xAI's bot and standalone app, as several conduct investigations into Grok's safeguards, xAI's response, and the possibility that the company is violating various online safety laws.

As sexualized images flooding X spark a global conversation, Newsweek spoke to legal experts about the potential legal implications.

The launch of an AI image editing feature on xAI’s Grok has caused chaos on X after it was used to generate a flood of non-consensual sexualized deepfakes. As Hayden Field wrote, “screenshots show Grok complying with requests to put real women in lingerie and make them spread their legs, and to put small children in bikinis.”

Grok has switched off its image creation and editing functions for most users following an international outcry over the tool’s misuse to generate sexually explicit and violent imagery. The AI tool was developed by Elon Musk’s xAI and integrated into the social media platform X.

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot is making misleading claims after being blasted for nonconsensual sexual images of users

Two countries have blocked the Grok app after it was widely used to generate non-consensual near-nude deepfakes of women

Malaysian authorities have announced legal action against Elon Musk's social media platform X and its AI unit xAI