The government is struggling with a flood of non-consensual nudity in X

For the past two weeks, X has been inundated with AI-manipulated nude images, generated by Grok’s AI chatbot. An alarming number of women have been affected by non-consensual sex, including famous models and actresses, as well news personality, crime victimand even world leader.

December 31 research paper from Copyleaks approximately one image is sent per minute, but later tests found far more. Samples collected from January 5 to 6 were found 6,700 per hour for 24 hours.

But when public figures from around the world have decried the option to publish models without safeguards, there are some clear mechanisms for regulators hoping to rein in the new image-manipulation system of Elon Musk. The results serve as a painful lesson in the limits of technology regulation — and the challenges ahead for regulators hoping to signal it.

Unsurprisingly, the most aggressive action has come from the European Commission, which on Thursday ordered xAI to withhold all documents related to its Grok chatbot. The move does not mean the commission is opening a new investigation, but it is a general precursor to such action. It is particularly ominous given a recent report from CNN which suggests Elon Musk may have intervened to prevent protection from the image that Grok could create.

It is unclear whether X has made any technical changes to Grok’s model, although the public media tab for Grok’s X account has been removed. In a statement, the company specifically denied the use of AI tools to generate sexual images of children. “Anyone who uses or asks Grok to create illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content,” X Safety reports. posted on January 3rdechoing an earlier tweet by Elon Musk.

In the meantime, regulators around the world have issued stern warnings. Ofcom England issued a statement theresaid that it is related to xAI and “will conduct a rapid assessment to determine if there are any potential compliance issues that warrant investigation.” At Friday radio interviewBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the phenomenon “disgusting” and “disgusting,” saying “Ofcom has our full support for action on this.”

At post on LinkedInAustralian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant said her office had received a doubling in Grok-related complaints since the end of 2025. But Inman-Grant stopped short of taking action against xAI, saying only, “We will use the various regulatory tools at our disposal to investigate and take appropriate action.”

By far the largest market to threaten the actions of India, where Grok was the subject of an official complaint from a member of Parliament. In January, India’s communications regulator MeitY ordered X to address the issue and submit an “action taken” report within 72 hours – a deadline that was later extended by 48 hours. When the report is there submitted to the regulator on January 7it is not clear whether MeitY will be satisfied with the response. Otherwise, X could lose its safe harbor status in India, a potentially serious limitation on its ability to operate in the country.