37 State Attorneys General Target xAI Over Grok Sexual Imagery

A coalition of at least 37 U.S. state and territory attorneys general is taking legal action against xAI after reports that its Grok chatbot generated millions of sexualized images, including approximately 23,000 images of children. A bipartisan group of 35 attorneys general, including New York's Letitia James and Pennsylvania's Dave Sunday, sent formal demands for the company to implement permanent protections and remove harmful material.

These officials assert that Grok's image editing features have been exploited to harass and intimidate women and children. The coalition demands that xAI suspend violators, report them to authorities, and ensure safeguards mitigate the production of content rather than simply placing restrictions behind a paywall. They also seek to give X platform users control over whether their content can be edited by the chatbot.

Additional targeted actions include a January 15 investigation launched by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and a January 16 cease-and-desist letter sent by California Attorney General Rob Bonta to Elon Musk regarding child sexual abuse material. This crackdown aligns with broader legislative efforts in 25 states to implement age verification laws for adult content. While xAI has claimed to make changes, officials argue that existing updates are insufficient to prevent the weaponization of the technology.