Fix Grok within 72 hours: Modi government to X
What's the story
The Indian government has ordered Elon Musk's social media platform, X, to make immediate changes to its AI chatbot, Grok. The directive comes after users and lawmakers flagged the generation of "obscene" content by the tool. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed X to take corrective action on Grok within 72 hours.
Compliance
MeitY's directive to X
The MeitY has asked X to restrict Grok from generating content involving "nudity, sexualization, sexually explicit, or otherwise unlawful" material. The ministry also warned that non-compliance could jeopardize X's "safe harbor" protections under Indian law. This comes after users shared instances of Grok altering images of individuals, mostly women, to make them look like they were in bikinis.
User complaints
Concerns over Grok's AI-generated content
The move comes after Indian parliamentarian Priyanka Chaturvedi filed a formal complaint against Grok. There were also reports of the AI chatbot generating sexualized pictures involving minors, an issue that X admitted earlier on Friday was due to lapses in safeguards. Although those images were later taken down, instances of Grok altering images of women to make them look like they were in bikinis remained accessible on X at the time of publication.
Legal immunity
Compliance with Indian content regulation rules
The latest order comes days after MeitY issued a broader advisory to social media platforms. The advisory reminded the firms that compliance with local laws governing obscene/sexually explicit content is a prerequisite for retaining the legal immunity from liability for user-generated material. It urged companies to strengthen their internal safeguards, warning that failure to do so could invite legal action under India's IT and criminal laws.