In this photo illustration, a person holds a smartphone displaying Ani, a virtual anime-style assistant character featured in the Grok 4 AI chatbot developed by xAI, on July 16, 2025 in Chongqing, China. The Grok logo is displayed on the background screen.
Chen Xin | Getty Images
Elon Musk’s xAI is currently facing an investigation in the US led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta for allegedly allowing its artificial intelligence chatbot and image generator Grok to create and post a wide range of non-consensual explicit images based on photos of real people.
In some cases, Grok can now be used to generate images of minors virtually undressing, according to research by the Internet Watch Foundation.
“xAI appears to be facilitating the large-scale production of non-consensual intimate deepfake images used to harass women and girls across the internet, including on social media platform X,” Bonta said in a statement Wednesday.
The AG said his office is investigating xAI for “the dissemination of non-consensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok.”
The U.S. investigation followed swifter responses from a myriad of international government agencies, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ireland and Australia, as well as an investigation by the European Commission.
CNBC previously reported that Malaysia and Indonesia are already moving to suspend the use of xAI’s Grok until the issue is resolved.
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