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The online network X has caused major anger after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by removing their garments.

Numerous cases have emerged where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.

Company Response and Regulatory Position

XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".

A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to ban image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".

"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."

Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality

The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.

Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a post.

It is commonly used to provide commentary or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an posted picture through its AI image editing tool.

Background of Criticism and Rules

The tool has been faulted for permitting users to generate pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate content of public figures.

"The platform has been enabling the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.

XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "showing images of people in a pornographic way".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or share deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.

It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.