On Monday, Jan. 26, New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 34 other attorneys general demanded that xAI take additional steps to protect users from inappropriate images and content created by its AI chatbot Grok and shared on the social media platform X.
The attorneys general say recent changes to Grok do not sufficiently protect users from inappropriate, nonconsensual images and related harassment.
The coalition is calling on xAI to explain how it intends to ensure that Grok cannot create nonconsensual images, eliminate the inappropriate content it creates, and suspend users who create harmful content.
“I am deeply disturbed by reports that Grok created and shared inappropriate images of women and children, and that is why I am joining a bipartisan coalition of my colleagues to demand answers from the company,” said Attorney General James. “xAI claims that it has made changes to address this problem, but more must be done ensure that Grok is not creating child sex abuse materials and other nonconsensual images.
“I will continue to work together with my colleagues to hold the company accountable and protect children and all online users,” she added.
James said Grok, xAI’s chatbot, has created and shared nonconsensual explicit images of women and children.
She said Grok enabled users to alter harmless images of women without consent, depicting them in inappropriate or undressed scenarios.
The attorneys general write that some users exploit Grok’s AI image editing feature to embarrass, intimidate, and exploit people.
The coalition asserts that creating and distributing child sexual abuse material constitutes a crime, and that various state and federal civil and criminal laws also forbid the creation of nonconsensual intimate images.
The attorneys general demand that xAI immediately detail how it intends to: Take all necessary measures to ensure that Grok no longer produces nonconsensual intimate images, including those that depict people in bikinis, underwear, revealing clothing, or suggestive poses, or constitute child sexual abuse material; eliminate inappropriate, nonconsensual content already produced; suspend users who created these materials; and report these creators and users to the relevant authorities.
In addition, the coalition demands that X grant users control over whether Grok can edit their content, including, at a minimum, the ability to easily prohibit the @Grok account from responding to their posts or editing their images when prompted by another user; and ensure that the recently announced safeguards do more than place NCII creation behind a paywall, instead actually mitigating its production throughout X and the Grok platform.
In December 2023, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of 41 other attorneys general sent a letter to Big Tech companies urging them to implement safeguards on AI chatbots to protect children and vulnerable people.
Earlier, in November 2024, James led a bipartisan coalition of 36 attorneys general in urging Congress to reject language in a military spending plan that would prevent states from passing or enforcing laws regulating AI.
In June 2024, James announced the signing into law of nation-leading legislation to combat addictive social media feeds and protect kids online, marking a major step in her ongoing efforts.
Joining James in sending Monday’s letter are attorneys general from 33 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands.
