The Indian government has issued a stern notice to social media giant X, highlighting significant failures in meeting mandatory due diligence obligations under the Information Technology Act and associated IT Rules. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) raised alarm over the widespread misuse of X’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, which is being exploited to generate and disseminate obscene, sexually explicit, and degrading content.
The ministry emphasized that women and children have been disproportionately victimized by such material, representing a serious violation of dignity, privacy, and online safety standards. MeitY characterized the situation as deeply concerning and reminded platforms of their legal duty to prevent the distribution of unlawful content.
In its directive, the ministry has ordered X to immediately evaluate and enhance Grok’s technical safety measures and oversight systems. The company has been instructed to delete all illegal content produced via the AI tool, take action against users who have committed these violations, and provide a comprehensive Action Taken Report within a 72-hour deadline.
MeitY issued a strong warning that non-compliance could lead to X forfeiting its safe harbour immunity under the IT Act. The ministry also cautioned that persistent violations may trigger strict enforcement under relevant cyber legislation, criminal laws, and child protection statutes.
This government intervention followed an appeal from Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi, who on Friday urged the Centre to mandate stronger safety protocols in AI applications deployed by X, expressing deep concern about women’s safety in digital spaces.
In her communication to Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Chaturvedi highlighted a disturbing pattern where users—frequently using fraudulent accounts—upload photographs of women and employ prompts to manipulate images by removing clothing and sexualizing subjects through Grok’s capabilities.
Chaturvedi emphasized that the problem extends beyond images sourced from fake profiles, also impacting women who post their own photographs, describing it as a grave and intolerable misuse of artificial intelligence technology. Writing in her official role as a member of the Standing Committee on IT and Communication, she pressed the minister to address the issue decisively with X and ensure comprehensive safeguards are integrated into its AI infrastructure to protect women users. She noted that the situation is worsened by Grok apparently enabling such conduct by processing these manipulative prompts.