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The online platform X has sparked major backlash after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by stripping their clothing.

Multiple cases have emerged where the tool has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.

Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position

XAI, the organization that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, other than an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".

A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and heavy fines".

"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."

Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality

The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.

Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a tweet.

It is frequently used to give reactions or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.

History of Controversy and Policy

The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to create pictures and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating inappropriate content of celebrities.

"X has been enabling the generation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.

XAI's own usage rules forbids "showing images of persons in a pornographic way".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.

It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.