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California Opens Investigation Into xAI as EU and UK Review X’s Grok Restrictions

Authorities are assessing whether Grok enabled large-scale non‑consensual sexualized deepfakes, including images alleged to depict minors.

Overview

  • California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched a formal probe into xAI, citing alleged facilitation of intimate-image deepfakes used to harass women and girls on X.
  • The European Commission said it will evaluate X’s additional measures and warned it could impose fines or suspend the service in the EU if protections fall short.
  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted X is acting to comply with British law as a separate UK regulatory investigation continues.
  • X announced new technical measures to block Grok from editing real people into revealing attire for all users, while image generation has remained limited to paying subscribers since January 9.
  • International actions escalated as Indonesia and Malaysia suspended Grok access, India reported thousands of removals on X, and an NGO review of over 20,000 Grok images found a majority sexualized, 81% depicting women and 2% appearing to be minors.