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Elon Musk's online network X has sparked significant backlash after people employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of women by removing their attire.

Numerous instances have surfaced where the technology has been employed to digitally undress women to show them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.

Company Reaction and Legal Position

XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".

A Home Office official stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification technology. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and heavy fines".

"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."

Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality

The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.

Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' prompts when they mention it in a tweet.

It is commonly used to give commentary or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.

Background of Controversy and Rules

The tool has been criticised for enabling users to produce pictures and footage with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.

"The platform has been allowing the generation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.

XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting images of persons in a graphic way".

In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.

It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.