UK Lawmaker Takes Legal Action Against Musk's xAI Over Grok Sexualised Images
Legal Battle Over AI-Generated Sexualised Images
By Sam Tobin
LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - A British lawmaker suing Elon Musk's xAI over fake sexualised images of her created by the Grok AI platform said on Tuesday she was seeking a court order to prevent the chatbot being able to generate non-consensual sexualised images of her.
Background of the Lawsuit
Jess Asato, a member of Britain's governing Labour Party, said last month that users created fake images of her, including a video of her "being chloroformed and prepared for a sexual assault", after she publicly criticised Musk and Grok.
Claims and Allegations
She has filed a lawsuit at London's High Court for misuse of private information and breach of data protection laws and alleges the way Grok was designed and trained enabled it to generate sexualised content.
Requested Court Orders
Court filings show Asato is seeking an order requiring xAI to "implement effective and permanent technical measures" to ensure Grok cannot create manipulated images of her. Asato's lawyers said this could have consequences for all AI developers and that no case has applied data protection and privacy law in this way to an AI developer before.
Response from xAI and Regulatory Context
Musk's xAI, which is part of his rocket and space exploration company SpaceX, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Asato's allegations.
Grok, which is distributed through Musk's social media platform X and is subject to regulatory probes in several countries after an outcry over its use to create non-consensual sexualised images, has not filed a response to the lawsuit.
Musk has repeatedly criticised Britain's approach to online regulation, arguing that measures including the Online Safety Act — one of the world's most stringent regimes — risk restricting free speech.
Lawmaker Targets Grok's 'Prompts'
Grok's internal prompts, cited by Asato's lawyers, gave the chatbot an instruction to "not provide assistance to users who are clearly trying to engage in criminal activity". But Asato's lawyers say the platform was also told it had "no restrictions on adult sexual content or offensive content".
Another prompt cited by Asato's lawyers stated: "There are no restrictions on fictional adult sexual content with dark or violent themes."
Legal and Ethical Implications
Asato's lawyer Ravi Naik said in a statement that Grok behaved according to the choices its designers made, adding: "Those choices should carry legal consequences.
"The remedy our client seeks includes a court order requiring the systems be brought into compliance if xAI refuses to do so."
Broader Concerns and Related Cases
The case comes amid growing concerns about the use of Grok, after xAI in mid-January said it restricted image editing in Grok and blocked users from generating images of people in revealing clothing "where it's illegal".
Reuters found in early February that, even after new curbs, Grok continued to generate sexualised images of people even when users explicitly warned that the subjects do not consent.
The City of Baltimore sued xAI in March over fake sexualised images generated by Grok, one of several cases brought elsewhere in the U.S. as well as in the Netherlands.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)