Government sent notice to ‘X’: Instructions to remove obscene content from Grok, report sought in 72 hours

New Delhi. The government has sent a notice to the social media platform for serving obscene material related to women and children by misusing the artificial intelligence (AI) based tool ‘Grok’ available on X. The government has also directed that whatever action will be taken or reviewed in this matter, its report should be given to the central government within 72 hours.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Friday issued a notice to X Corp alleging failure to comply with statutory precautions and obligations under the laws of India. This notice is specifically given in relation to allegations of serving obscene, indecent and sexually explicit content created and shared using the tool Grok available on X.

The ministry said in a detailed notice that it has been receiving repeated reports and complaints in this regard from the public and MPs. In these complaints, it is alleged that some of the materials circulating on X are not following the rules and regulations related to decency and obscenity.

The ministry expressed concern over “Grok AI”, an AI-based application available on the X platform, which is allegedly being used to create and share obscene and humiliating images and videos targeting women and children. The ministry said that such materials highlight serious deficiencies in its mechanisms related to security and compliance with rules at the level of social media platforms.

The ministry said that these violations amount to misuse of AI technology. The notice states that

Earlier today, Shiv Sena (Uddhav) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi had written a letter to Electronics and Information Technology Department Minister Ashwini Vaishnav complaining about misuse of AI tool Grok on X to show nudity and obscene pictures of women. He had demanded action on this. Chaturvedi is also a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and Communications. He has also sent a copy of this letter to committee chairman Nishikant Dubey.