Governments grapple with flood of non-consensual nudity on X

Over the past two weeks, X has been flooded with AI-manipulated nude images, created by chatbot Grok AI. An alarming number of women have been affected by these non-consensual nudes, including A-list models and actresses, as well as current figures, victims of crimeand even world leaders.

A December 31 research paper from Copyleaks estimated that about one image was posted every minute, but later testing revealed much more. A sample collected January 5-6 found 6,700 per hour over a 24 hour period.

But while public figures around the world have denounced the choice to release the model without guarantees, there are few clear mechanisms for regulators to hope to rein in Elon Musk’s new image manipulation system. The result became a painful lesson in the limits of technology regulation – and a future challenge for regulators hoping to make their mark.

Unsurprisingly, the most aggressive action came from the European Commission, which announced Thursday ordered xAI to retain all documents linked to its chatbot Grok. The move does not necessarily mean the commission has opened a new investigation, but it is a common precursor to such action. This is particularly worrying given recent CNN report this suggests that Elon Musk may have personally intervened to prevent safeguards from being placed on any images that might be generated by Grok.

It is unclear if X made any technical changes to the Grok model, although the public media tab of Grok’s X account has been removed. In a statement, the company specifically denounced the use of AI tools to produce child pornography images. “Anyone who uses or encourages Grok to create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they were uploading illegal content,” explains the X Safety account. posted January 3echoing a previous tweet from Elon Musk.

Meanwhile, regulators around the world have issued stark warnings. UK Ofcom released a statement Mondaysaying it was in contact with xAI and “will undertake a rapid assessment to determine whether there are any potential compliance issues that warrant investigation.” In a radio interview on ThursdayBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the phenomenon “shameful” and “disgusting”, saying “Ofcom has our full support in taking action on this”.

In a publication on LinkedInAustralia’s Electronic Security Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant said her office had received a doubling of Grok-related complaints since late 2025. But Inman-Grant stopped short of taking action against xAI, saying only: “We will use the range of regulatory tools at our disposal to investigate and take appropriate action.”

By far the largest market in which measures have been threatened is India, where Grok was the subject of a formal complaint from a member of Parliament. In January, India’s communications regulator, MeitY, ordered X to resolve the issue and submit a report on “action taken” within 72 hours – a deadline that was later extended by 48 hours. While a report was submitted to the regulator on January 7it’s unclear whether MeitY will be satisfied with the response. Otherwise, X could lose its safe harbor status in India, which could seriously limit its ability to operate in the country.