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Elon Musk's social media network X has caused major backlash after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of women by removing their garments.

Multiple examples have surfaced where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to show them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexually explicit contexts.

Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance

XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".

A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".

"The platform is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."

Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality

The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.

Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some additional features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a message.

It is commonly used to provide reactions or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.

Background of Criticism and Policy

The system has been condemned for allowing users to produce photos and clips with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate material of public figures.

"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.

XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a pornographic way".

In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.

It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.