The Indian government has warned the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) for its artificial intelligence tool, Grok. On Friday, January 2nd, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a formal notice to the company owned by Elon Musk. The government is concerned that people are using Grok to share and produce “obscene” images, specifically those that show contempt for women or children.
A 72-Hour Deadline for Change
The government has offered X exactly three days (or 72 hours) to resolve the problem and send a detailed report after correcting it. They want to know what X will do to prevent its AI from producing images like these. If the company fails to comply, it could lose its legal immunity, known as “safe harbour.” It’s a law that generally shields social media platforms from being sued for what users post. Without it, the executives at X could face serious legal risk and even imprisonment under Indian law.
The ministry also ordered X to immediately take down all illegal content, and block users found to be involved in creating these images. They are also demanding a report on what the company’s “Chief Compliance Officer” in India is doing to prevent these abuses. The government made it clear that it would not tolerate any platform threatening the safety and privacy of Indian citizens.
How the Problem Started
The issue began when a disturbing trend spread across the platform. Some users were uploading normal photographs of women and asking the Grok AI tool to “edit” or “alter” them, making the women appear naked or in sexual situations. These fake, doctored photographs were then shared widely without the women’s knowledge or consent.
This caused massive outrage in India. Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote an urgent letter to the IT Minister describing the misuse as “gross” and a blatant attack on women’s privacy. Even Grok itself admitted there were “lapses in safeguards,” meaning the rules meant to prevent the AI from making such content had failed. Reports also found that the AI had generated inappropriate images of children, a serious criminal offense.
X Tries to Fix the Tool
The team behind Grok says they’ve made significant changes since the government intervened. They claim to have disabled the “media feature” that lets the AI generate images and implemented stricter filters to block inappropriate requests. When users now try to request something offensive, the tool automatically responds that it cannot fulfil the request.
However, safety experts in India say such measures are not enough. They point out that many of the fake images are still circulating on the platform and haven’t been deleted. The government has also warned all social media platforms to be far more cautious about what their AI systems can do. As the 72-hour clock winds down, everyone is watching to see if X will take enough action to satisfy Indian authorities.
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