Meity unhappy with X's reply on Grok misuse, may seek more details

Government may seek additional details on chatbot's role in generating explicit images

The central government is likely to seek more details from Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter) on how its flagship artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot, Grok, allowed users to create objectionable and sexually explicit images of women and children, sources told Business Standard.

 

According to sources, X submitted its reply to the notice issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) on Wednesday, but the ministry was not satisfied with the response.

 

“We have asked them to share more details, including whether this issue had been flagged by other jurisdictions globally, and whether any steps were taken to take down such content,” an official said.

 

In its reply to Meity, X also assured that while it has already taken down the objectionable content flagged by the government, it is preparing to take strict action, including permanent bans and the disbarment of accounts found to be misusing Grok to create sexually explicit images and videos and share them publicly.

 

On Monday, Meity gave X until 5 pm on Wednesday to submit its reply. A report of the comprehensive “technical, procedural and governance-level” review conducted by the company on Grok has also been submitted and will be examined by the ministry, another official said.

 

Last week, in a letter sent to X, the cyber law division of Meity asked the platform to “remove or disable access, without delay, to all content already generated or disseminated in violation of applicable laws, in strict compliance with the timelines prescribed under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, without vitiating the evidence in any manner”.

 

The ministry also said X must enforce its terms of service and AI usage restrictions, and take “strong deterrent measures”, including suspending, terminating, or taking other action against accounts using Grok to create sexually explicit images of women and children.

 

A day after Meity’s letter, Musk warned in a post on X that “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”. Users in India and globally have been able to use Grok to create sexually explicit and objectionable images of women and children using simple prompts. 

Under scrutiny

• Centre seeks details on global flags and actions
• X says objectionable content taken down
• Platform plans stricter action, including permanent bans
• Govt reviewing Grok’s technical and governance report