After IT ministry rap, X acts on Grok abuse

New Delhi: Microblogging platform X admitted its mistake and removed about 3,500 pieces of content, as well as deleted over 600 accounts, after the IT Ministry raised concerns over obscene content linked to Elon Musk-backed AI chatbot Grok, government sources said on Sunday. X has assured the authorities that it would comply with Indian laws. The action comes amid mounting pressure on Grok from governments worldwide, as regulators intensify scrutiny of the generative AI engine over content moderation, data safety and non-consensual sexually-explicit images that have flooded X over the last few days. According to Indian government sources, X has accepted its mistake and assured it will comply with Indian laws. Accordingly, it has blocked around 3,500 pieces of content, and over 600 accounts have been deleted. It has also assured that going forward, it won’t allow obscene imagery, sources said. Last Sunday, X’s ‘Safety’ handle said it takes action against illegal content on its platform, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary. “Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” X had said, echoing the stance taken by Musk on illegal content. X is facing a global backlash over the ‘digital undressing’ of images through user prompts on the xAI chatbot Grok. It has come under fire from governments across the world, including in Europe and Asia, warning it of consequences if the platform failed to adhere to online safety norms, while public calls for action on both X and Grok over the issue have been growing. On January 2, the IT Ministry had pulled up X and directed it to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content generated by Grok or face action under the law.