Lawsuits Accuse xAI's Grok of Creating Child Sexual Abuse Material

Young plaintiffs in several US lawsuits allege that xAI's Grok turned ordinary childhood photos into child sexual abuse material, according to Bloomberg. The cases seek to establish whether xAI can be held responsible for explicit material generated by its chatbot in response to user requests.

One complaint says Grok altered a photo of a 14 year old at her middle school graduation to depict her naked in a sexual pose. Other plaintiffs allege users transformed yearbook, social media and family photos into explicit images, including thousands of images involving one child.

XAI says it prohibits child sexual exploitation and uses technical controls to prevent such material. Elon Musk has said responsibility lies with users because Grok generates images only after receiving requests. The company also says it disabled Grok's ability to create nonconsensual sexual images of real people.

Several plaintiffs filed claims under Masha's Law, which allows victims of child sexual exploitation to seek damages. Their lawyers argue that Section 230 should not protect xAI because Grok creates the alleged illegal material rather than merely hosting content uploaded by users.