The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology expressed its concern over the Grok AI bikini image trend. According to the government, this kind of content that spreads negativity and is obscene will not be entertained in India. The ministry also issued a letter to X, citing the failures of the brand in managing its own Grok. As per the ministry, Grok and other services of xAI have been used to generate and distribute obscene content, mostly consisting of non-consensual images, targeting the dignity and privacy of women. Meity has also asked X to remove all the illegal material available on the platform with immediate effect.
In response to the same, X has also submitted the reply to the ministry but the latter has dubbed the same inadequate, suggesting that the response from X did not talk about actions and preventive steps. A report by PTI, suggested that the ministry has asked X to provide solid evidence of measures that the company is implementing to stop anything like the recent scandal to arise again. That’s not it, as the government has also asked the company to share the technical details of escalation protocols and moderation systems. The company has also been asked to make sure that it aligns with the country’s IT rules and content standards. Officials said that the government is not in sync with the generic assurances this time.
What Does This Mean For Other AI Models?
If the issue doesn’t get resolved quickly, then it will become a point of getting attacked, as most of the nations have raised concerns over obscene trends like the latest ones. It will be interesting to see how Elon Musk first responds to the latest demands from the government of India.
As part of its response, X has offered to provide the Indian government with a comprehensive demonstration of how Grok functions, including detailed explanations of its content moderation mechanisms and enforcement protocols. This proposal appears aimed at building transparency and trust with regulatory authorities.
Queries sent to X and the IT Ministry did not elicit a response until publication.
On January 2, the IT Ministry had taken note of Grok being abused to generate objectionable pictures and videos of women, without their consent, while increasing the risk of exposure and harm, and had sent a missive to the company saying that it was not adhering to the country’s laws, raising red flags over “serious failure” of safeguards enforcement.
The issue became a global concern, with regulators in the European Union, United Kingdom and Malaysia also scrutinising the social media company.
The notice said that due to Grok’s actions, X was not adequately adhering to provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, particularly in relation to obscene, indecent, vulgar, pornographic, paedophilic, or otherwise unlawful or harmful content which are potentially violative of current laws.
Users on X were increasingly tagging Musk’s AI chatbot Grok to generate sexualised and objectionable images of women without their consent, raising fresh concerns over AI misuse and platform safeguards. In several instances, users replied to photos of women, often taken from public posts, and prompted Grok to alter their appearance by adding revealing clothing or creating suggestive visuals, which the AI-bot promptly did. The AI-generated images appear publicly in the same threads, exposing the women to harassment without their approval or knowledge.
The government had also directed the company to undertake a comprehensive technical, procedural and governance-level review of Grok AI, including its prompt-processing, output generation, and image handling and safety guardrails, “to ensure that the application does not generate, promote or facilitate content which contains nudity, sexualisation, sexually explicit or otherwise unlawful content”.
