Center Cracks Down On X Over Grok AI Misuse; Issues 72-Hour Ultimatum To Remove Obscene Content | India News

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a warning to the Elon Musk-owned social media platform

The government has given the platform an ultimatum of 72 hours to submit its Action Taken Report (ATR), failing which the platform will face severe legal action and will also lose its “safe harbor” protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.

Grok Artificial Intelligence Misused To Target Women

This is due to the misuse of the Grok AI facility, reported by the Centre. A four-page letter was written to the Chief Compliance Officer of X, indicating that users are creating fake accounts to host derogatory images and videos of women.

The letter pointed out that it is noticed that this tool is being forced to “minimise clothing” and thereby sexualise women in the picture, which actually constitutes a grave disregard for their dignity and privacy.

I would take this opportunity to thank Hon IT Minister for promptly taking note of my letter and for issuing a letter to pic.twitter.com/kEb1HameMn— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) January 2, 2026

Statutory Lapses And Legal Warnings

The ministry pointed out the failure of

Safe Harbor in Jeopardy: Non-compliance could lead to X losing its safe harbor status, which would put it at risk to be held responsible for all third-party content that is currently published on its service.

Broad Legal Action: The government issued a warning of legal action in relation to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Indecent Representation of Women Act, and the POCSO Act (in cases of children).

Holistic Security Review Required

Besides the initial removal, the Center has also asked X to conduct an urgent technical and governance-based review of Grok. These include:

Examination of Grok’s architectural design, including its structure

Prompt Filtering: Enhancing protections against the production of offensive or illegal synthetic media.

accountability: Disciplinary action, like permanent suspension, against violators who misuse the AI ​​tool.

Evidence Preservation: Blocking access to illegal material without “vitiating the evidence” that might be relevant to possible criminal proceedings.

Wider Crackdown On Digital Obscenity

This action has been preceded by another letter, this time from an MP in the Rajya Sabha named Priyanka Chaturvedi, to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, pointing out the growing trend of “digital undressing” practices against women on this platform.

VIDEO | Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi says, “There is an AI tool on the platform X, previously known as Twitter, which is being misused. When women share photographs on social media, especially on pic.twitter.com/lS637WSSr9— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 2, 2026

IT Minister Vaishwani again emphasized on Friday that social networking sites bear responsibility for content on their platforms and that “intervention” was also necessary to provide all users with a trustworthy internet.

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