xAI Faces Lawsuits Over Grok-Generated Sexualized Deepfakes

British lawmaker Jess Asato and a group of five anonymous children have filed separate lawsuits against xAI, alleging the company designed its Grok AI chatbot to generate harmful sexualized content. Asato, a Labour MP, filed her suit in London's High Court after Grok was used to create non-consensual images and a video depicting her being drugged and prepared for sexual assault. Her legal team argues that xAI breached data protection laws and intentionally trained the tool to operate without restrictions on adult or violent content.

Simultaneously, a federal class action lawsuit was filed in Nashville, Tennessee, against xAI and Stability AI. The plaintiffs allege the companies provided tools that enabled the creation of child sexual abuse material using photographs of children without consent, specifically citing Grok's "Spicy Mode." This suit leverages a 2025 Tennessee law that criminalizes technology designed to create AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

In response to the legal pressure and broader criticism, xAI announced new measures to prevent the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing and implemented geoblocking in certain jurisdictions. While Elon Musk stated that users creating illegal content would face consequences, xAI has not yet filed a formal response to Asato's lawsuit. The legal actions coincide with similar proceedings against xAI in the Netherlands and the City of Baltimore.