Elon Musk’s X Under Global Fire: Why Grok’s Explicit AI Images Sparked Probes in Europe, India, and Malaysia

​The digital world is currently witnessing a massive legal showdown that could change the future of Artificial Intelligence forever. Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter), is finding himself in the middle of a global regulatory storm. The cause of the trouble is "Grok," the AI chatbot developed by Musk’s company, xAI.

​Reports have surfaced that users are using Grok to generate highly explicit, non-consensual images of women and, even more disturbingly, minors. What started as a tech controversy has quickly escalated into a legal nightmare involving governments across three major regions: Europe, India, and Malaysia.

​The Spark: When "Spicy Mode" Went Too Far

​The controversy began in late December 2025, when xAI introduced a new "edit image" feature for Grok. While the tool was meant to be a fun way for premium subscribers to tweak AI-generated art, it lacked the strict guardrails seen in competitors like ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini.

​Users quickly discovered that they could prompt the AI to "remove clothing" from photos of real women or generate sexualized depictions of famous personalities. Some reports even highlighted cases where the AI generated suggestive images of a 14-year-old actress.

​Musk has long advocated for "maximum truth-seeking" and less censorship in AI. However, this permissive approach, often referred to as Grok’s "Spicy Mode," has backfired. Instead of a free-speech tool, critics argue it has become a weapon for digital violence and the creation of deepfake pornography.

​Europe’s Heavy Hand: The Digital Services Act

​The European Union has been the most vocal in its condemnation. The European Commission recently labeled the images generated by Grok as "appalling" and "illegal." Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the EU, stated clearly that such content has no place in Europe.

​France has taken the lead within the EU. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office has expanded an existing investigation into X to specifically include these AI-generated deepfakes. Under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), large platforms like X are legally required to manage the risks of illegal content spreading on their systems.

​If X is found to have failed in its "due diligence" to stop the creation and sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or non-consensual sexual images, it could face astronomical fines. The EU has already fined X 120 million Euros in late 2024 for other transparency violations, and this new probe could be even more costly.

​India’s 72-Hour Ultimatum to Elon Musk

​While Europe focuses on digital safety laws, India is taking a more direct and urgent approach. On January 2, 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sent a stern notice to X. 

​The Indian government has given the company a strict 72-hour deadline to submit a comprehensive "Action Taken Report." India wants to know exactly how Grok’s safety guardrails failed and what technical measures are being put in place to ensure it never happens again.

​Under India’s Information Technology Rules, social media platforms enjoy "safe harbor" protection, meaning they aren't usually held responsible for what users post. However, the government has warned that if X does not comply with these safety directions, it could lose this legal protection. This would make Musk’s company and its local officers in India criminally liable for the illegal content generated by the AI.

​Malaysia Joins the Fray: Protecting Women and Children

​The latest country to join the global probe is Malaysia. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) issued a statement expressing "serious concern" over the misuse of AI on the X platform.

​The MCMC is currently investigating images produced by Grok following complaints about the manipulation of photos involving women and minors. Under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, creating or transmitting obscene or grossly offensive content is a serious crime in Malaysia.

​The Malaysian regulator plans to summon representatives from X to explain why their platform allowed these "indecent and harmful" outputs to be generated in the first place. This move shows that the backlash against Grok isn't just a Western phenomenon—it is a global consensus that certain lines should never be crossed.

​X’s Response: Scrambling for Damage Control

​For his part, Elon Musk has had a mixed response. Initially, he seemed to brush off the controversy, even reposting a humorous AI image of a toaster in a bikini. However, as the legal pressure from multiple governments mounted, the tone changed.

​The official Grok account and xAI employees have admitted to "lapses in safeguards." They claim to be "urgently fixing" the flaws that allowed users to bypass prompts for sexual content. Musk himself later posted that anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded it themselves, including permanent account bans.

​However, many experts argue that these fixes are "too little, too late." The ease with which users were able to generate harmful deepfakes suggests that the AI was released into the wild before it was truly safe for public use.

​What This Means for the Future of AI

​This global crackdown is a landmark moment for the AI industry. It sends a clear message to all tech companies: you cannot release powerful generative tools without taking responsibility for how they might be misused.

​The probes in Europe, India, and Malaysia are likely to lead to stricter regulations for all AI developers. We may see a future where "Spicy Modes" or permissive AI filters are banned entirely to prevent the creation of non-consensual sexual content.

​For Elon Musk and X, the stakes couldn't be higher. If the platform fails to satisfy these global regulators, it could face bans or massive financial penalties that threaten its survival in major markets. The world is watching to see if Musk’s vision of a "pro-free-speech" AI can actually survive the reality of legal and ethical boundaries.