Social media platform X has admitted lapses in its content moderation and told Indian authorities it will comply fully with Indian law as concerns mount over sexually explicit material generated or amplified via its AI tool, Grok, government sources said. The admission followed a notice from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) that asked X's India chief compliance officer for a detailed action-taken report within 72 hours and demanded immediate prevention of hosting, generation, publication, transmission, sharing or uploading of obscene, nude, indecent and sexually explicit content through misuse of AI services. [1][2][6]
According to government sources, X has blocked roughly 3,500 pieces of obscene content and deleted more than 600 accounts found to be in violation of Indian laws, and has given assurances it will not allow obscene imagery on the platform going forward. The company’s response was conveyed during discussions with regulators after complaints about AI-enabled image generation tools were raised publicly and in formal correspondence. [1][5]
The issue gained political visibility after Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, warning that Grok was being misused to sexualise women's photos. In that letter she described a pattern in which fake accounts upload images and "push out prompts to Grok to minimise their clothing and sexualise them", calling the practice a "gross misuse of an Al function" that breaches women's privacy. She urged urgent regulatory intervention to protect victims' rights. [1][3][4]
Chaturvedi also criticised X for restricting problematic image-generation through Grok to paid users rather than stopping it outright, arguing that the move “effectively allows unauthorised misuse of images of women and children, putting them at risk”. In an X post she said: “It is unfortunate to see how, instead of altogether stopping problematic, sexualised image generation through Grok, the platform has restricted its use to paid users. So if you show the platform the money, they won’t care about the guidelines or guardrails honey. This effectively means that women or children images can be up for unauthorised misuse by perverts. This isn’t creating a safe space for women, but rather @XCorpIndia monetising this reprehensible pervert behaviour under the garb of creativity and innovation. Shameful use of AI.” Her public complaints prompted the ministry action. [1][4]
Government correspondence and media reports emphasise potential breaches of the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, with MeitY instructing X to remove offending content promptly and to demonstrate compliance with Indian regulations. Industry reporting notes the ministry framed its demands around both immediate content removal and systemic safeguards to prevent recurrence. [2][6]
X’s acknowledgement of lapses and the actions it has taken do not, on their own, resolve broader questions about platform responsibility for AI-enabled content generation. Rights advocates and some lawmakers have argued that platform policies should combine proactive technical guardrails, robust reporting and takedown procedures, and clearer limitations on monetised access to sensitive features. The regulatory attention in India mirrors wider global debates about how to govern AI tools embedded within social platforms. [1][5]
As the ministry awaits X’s action-taken report, the dispute is likely to test how rapidly platforms must evolve moderation systems for generative AI features while operating under domestic legal regimes. MeitY’s 72-hour deadline and the public criticism from elected representatives underline the political urgency in New Delhi for concrete safeguards to prevent the sexualisation and exploitation of images of women and children online. [6][1]
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##Reference Map:
- [1] (Lokmarg) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 6, Paragraph 7
- [2] (Times of India) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 5
- [3] (LiveMint) - Paragraph 3
- [4] (Economic Times) - Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4
- [5] (India Today) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 6
- [6] (India Today video/report) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 7
Source: Noah Wire Services