India has directed Elon Musk owned social media platform X to make immediate technical and procedural changes to its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok following complaints over the generation of obscene and sexually explicit content.
The order, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, came after users and lawmakers raised concerns about AI altered images of women and other inappropriate material created through the tool.
In the directive, the ministry instructed X to restrict Grok from generating content involving nudity, sexualisation or any material deemed unlawful under Indian law. The company was also given 72 hours to submit a detailed report outlining steps taken to prevent the hosting and spread of obscene, pornographic, vulgar or indecent content. The government warned that failure to comply could put at risk X’s safe harbour status, which protects platforms from liability for user generated content.
The action followed widespread online criticism and a formal complaint by Indian parliamentarian Priyanka Chaturvedi, after Grok was reportedly used to alter images of individuals, mainly women, to appear as though they were wearing bikinis.
Separate reports also flagged instances where the chatbot generated sexualised images involving minors, an issue X acknowledged was due to gaps in its safeguards, adding that the content had been removed. However, some AI altered images of women reportedly remained accessible on the platform at the time of review.
India’s move reflects a broader push by authorities to tighten oversight of digital platforms, especially as AI tools become more visible and influential in public discourse. As one of the world’s largest digital markets, the country is increasingly positioning itself as a test case for how far governments can go in holding platforms accountable for AI generated content.
The order comes even as X continues to challenge aspects of India’s content regulation framework in court, arguing against regulatory overreach while complying with most takedown directives. X and its AI unit xAI had not responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting.