Mumbai, January 4: Elon Musk has issued a stark warning to users of the X (formerly Twitter) AI chatbot, Grok, stating that anyone leveraging the tool to generate illegal content will face the same legal repercussions as those who upload it directly. The statement, released on Saturday, January 3, 2026, comes as X faces mounting international pressure and a formal 72-hour ultimatum from the Indian government to address a surge in AI-generated explicit material.

Responding to a post regarding inappropriate images generated by the chatbot, Musk compared the AI to a writing instrument, arguing that the responsibility lies with the user rather than the technology itself. Move Over NSFW Pics: Elon Musk Wants You to Use Grok for Your Blood Report.

Elon Musk Warns of Consequences for Illegal Use of Grok and X

"Some people are saying Grok is creating inappropriate images. But that’s like blaming a pen for writing something bad," Musk wrote. "A pen doesn’t decide what gets written. The person holding it does. Grok works the same way."

The billionaire entrepreneur reiterated that X would treat the creation of illegal material via AI prompts as a direct violation of platform policies, carrying consequences identical to those for traditional media uploads.

India Issues 72-Hour Compliance Ultimatum

The warning follows a formal notice from India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The ministry has demanded that X immediately remove all "vulgar, obscene, and unlawful content" generated by Grok, specifically highlighting incidents where the tool was used to sexualize and "digitally undress" women and children.

The Indian government has given X until Monday, January 5, to submit a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR). Failure to comply could lead to:

  • Loss of Safe Harbor: X may lose its statutory immunity, making the platform and its officers legally liable for user-generated content.

  • Legal Prosecution: Potential action under the IT Act, 2000, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

  • Technical Audit: A mandatory review of Grok's prompt-processing and safety guardrails.

Global Scrutiny and "Safeguard Lapses"

The controversy is not limited to India. In France, government officials have reported Grok-generated content to public prosecutors, labeling the material "manifestly illegal" and a potential violation of the European Union’s Digital Services Act.

Internally, Grok itself has acknowledged "lapses in safeguards." In recent posts, the AI account admitted to identifying errors that allowed for the generation of images depicting minors in "minimal clothing," stating that the team is "urgently fixing" these vulnerabilities. xAI, the company behind Grok, maintains that Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) is strictly prohibited.

Background: The Rise of AI Deepfakes

The backlash follows a global trend of "nudifier" AI tools being weaponized to target public figures and private citizens alike. While xAI has marketed Grok as a more "permissive" and "unfiltered" alternative to mainstream AI, the platform has struggled to prevent users from bypassing filters to create non-consensual deepfakes.

Lawmakers worldwide are now weighing stricter regulations to ensure that "Spicy Mode" and similar features do not facilitate the harassment or exploitation of individuals in digital spaces.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 04, 2026 12:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).