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Elon Musk's online network X has sparked major backlash after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of women by taking off their clothing.

Multiple instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized contexts.

Developer Reaction and Legal Stance

XAI, the company responsible for Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".

A Home Office official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw nudification tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".

"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."

Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities

The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.

Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional features—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a post.

It is frequently used to give reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.

Background of Criticism and Policy

The system has been condemned for permitting users to produce pictures and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of public figures.

"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.

XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying images of persons in a graphic fashion".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.

It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.