The lawsuit, filed in federal court in northern California on Monday, accuses xAI of violating child pornography laws by knowingly creating, possessing, and distributing child sexual abuse material on its servers and systems, according to the filing. The plaintiffs, identified only as Jane Doe 1, 2, and 3, are seeking class action status. According to the lawsuit, the deepfake creation process began last May when Musk and his executives enabled users to ask Grok to 'undress' photos of real people down to their underwear. By January 2026, usage had exploded, leading to thousands, perhaps millions of nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes, including some that appeared to depict children. The images in this case were created using a third-party app that pays xAI money to license Grok's image-generation capabilities under a different brand, the lawsuit states.
In a specific instance, Jane Doe 1 received an anonymous tip-off on Instagram that nude photos and videos of her and other minors were circulating on Discord, according to the lawsuit. Someone used AI to take real photos of Jane Doe 1 at her school's homecoming dance or in the yearbook and edited them into sexually explicit or suggestive material, often rendering her fully nude. Police traced the alleged perpetrator and arrested them in December 2025. When police searched the perpetrator's device, they found similar photos of Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, and 15 other girls, many of whom attended the same school, the lawsuit alleges. The perpetrator allegedly distributed these images on Telegram and other services, trading them around the internet in exchange for sexually explicit material of other teenagers.
Separately, Liverpool FC have complained to Elon Musk's social media platform X after its AI bot Grok posted several despicable tweets about the club and its supporters, according to reports. Users can ask Grok questions or to generate content, and some have requested posts on tragedies such as Hillsborough and Heysel. One user asked Grok to create a vulgar post about Liverpool FC, referencing Hillsborough and Heysel, according to reports. The response included horrific insults about the club's supporters. Another user requested Grok to create a similar post on Diogo Jota, the Liverpool playmaker who tragically perished in a car crash last summer along with his brother. Liverpool are aware of the posts and were attempting to get them removed, reports indicate. Other top-flight clubs have also been targeted, including both Manchester sides and Sunderland.
The scandal has prompted regulatory investigations and government responses worldwide. In January, Ofcom hit out at Musk's site following complaints that Grok was able to produce images of minors in minimal clothing, the regulator said. The UK media regulator said it had serious concerns that the bot was producing undressed images of people. X responded by stating it had identified lapses in safeguards and was urgently fixing them. Last month, X's French offices were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit, as part of an investigation into suspected offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child sexual abuse material. Musk has been summoned to appear at a hearing in April. The UK Information Commissioner's Office announced a probe into Grok surrounding its potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content. Musk responded on X, branding the raid a political attack.
Meanwhile, X users are evading a ban on creating and sharing sexualised images on the platform by exploiting a loophole, according to reports. People on the site are asking the AI chatbot Grok to swap celebrities' outfits with a picture of lingerie. The first account to sensationalise the loophole was @fun_viral_vids, which asked Grok to take a red carpet picture of Sydney Sweeney and swap her outfit for a red corset and bunny ears. This has been used countless times with one user asking Grok to swap an outfit onto Sydney Sweeney, posting a picture of the actress and a string bikini, reports show. The replies are then full of the actress nude or in that outfit.
Political reactions have intensified, with legislative efforts underway. In January, Sir Keir Starmer promised to take necessary measures against X after social media trolls used Grok to create manipulated images of MPs in bikinis and sexually explicit images of children. Addressing backbenchers the Prime Minister branded Grok disgusting and said the government would strengthen existing laws and prepare for legislation if it needs to go further. In response, Tech Secretary Liz Kendall said the government would ban nudification tools through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill. But in March, female Labour MPs were left furious after it was revealed the government's proposed nudification ban would only apply to products in the UK and wouldn't therefore affect Grok. Ms Kendall previously warned that Grok may not be covered by the proposals – despite it generating around three million sexualised images in less than two weeks. In a letter to the Labour MP Chi Onwurah, the Tech Secretary wrote the government has identified that not all chatbots are covered and she has commissioned officials to look at how this gap can be addressed. Claire Coutinho, shadow equalities minister, said this is yet another example of Labour talking tough but failing to deliver, leaving loopholes that predators will exploit.
This controversy adds to Grok's history of issues since its launch in 2023 by Elon Musk's company xAI. It has since been subject to several major issues, including an apparent Holocaust denial scandal which questioned the use of gas chambers at Auschwitz, according to reports. Baroness Bertin described Grok as the tip of the iceberg as the majority of sexualised deepfake images come from Chinese apps, according to the Daily Mail.