California AG orders xAI to stop Grok creating sexualized deepfakes of minors

Businessinsider reports California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a cease-and-desist letter to xAI demanding the company prevent its chatbot Grok from creating sexualized deepfake images of minors and other nonconsenting people, and threatening legal action if it does not comply. xAI was given until January 20 at 5 p.m. to comply.

The letter demanded xAI block creation of sexualized images of people who did not request them, or who were minors when the image was created, and said failing to stop such images would violate California statutes on deepfake porn, child-sexual-abuse images, unlawful recording, and unfair business practices. X said it had implemented technological measures to prevent editing images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis for all users, including paid subscribers, but reporter Henry Chandonnet found on Thursday that X or the Grok app still produced sexualized images.

Bonta's office is investigating the nonconsensual sexually explicit material xAI has produced and posted online; separately, influencer Ashley St. Clair sued xAI alleging Grok generated sexually explicit deepfakes of her from childhood photos. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the images "disgusting" and "shameful," and Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines blocked access to Grok; xAI responded in an automated message saying "Legacy Media Lies."

Key Topics

Tech, Xai, Grok, Rob Bonta, California, Deepfake Images