French and Malaysian authorities have opened investigations into Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s startup xAI, following allegations that it generated sexualized deepfake images involving women and minors. The development adds to growing international scrutiny, with India also taking regulatory action against the tool.

Grok, which is integrated into Musk’s social media platform X, issued a public apology earlier this week after an incident on December 28, 2025. In the statement posted on its official account, the chatbot acknowledged generating and sharing an AI-produced image depicting two young girls, estimated to be between the ages of 12 and 16, in sexualized attire in response to a user prompt.

The statement described the incident as a violation of ethical standards and a potential breach of United States laws relating to child sexual abuse material. It further admitted to failures in internal safeguards and stated that xAI is reviewing its systems to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

However, the apology has drawn criticism. Commentators have questioned the substance of the statement, noting the ambiguity over who is accepting responsibility. Media analyst Albert Burneko argued that a chatbot cannot meaningfully apologize or be held accountable, raising broader concerns about responsibility and oversight in AI-generated content.

Investigative reports have also highlighted wider misuse of the chatbot. According to findings by Futurism, Grok has been used to generate non-consensual pornographic images, including depictions of women being assaulted or sexually abused.

Responding to the controversy, Elon Musk stated on Saturday that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as those who upload such material directly to the platform.

Regulatory pressure has intensified. India’s Ministry of Information Technology issued a directive ordering X to restrict Grok from generating content deemed obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, pedophilic, or otherwise prohibited by law. The ministry warned that failure to comply within 72 hours could result in the loss of “safe harbor” protections that limit platform liability for user-generated content.

In France, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed it has launched an investigation into the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes on X. The country’s digital affairs office disclosed that three government ministers had formally reported what they described as “manifestly illegal content” to both the prosecutor’s office and a national online surveillance platform, requesting its immediate removal.

Malaysia has also taken action. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said it is investigating public complaints regarding the misuse of AI tools on X, particularly the manipulation of images of women and minors to produce indecent, grossly offensive, and harmful material. The commission described the issue as a serious online harm and confirmed that inquiries are ongoing.

As governments across multiple regions move to address the risks posed by generative AI, the Grok controversy is emerging as a significant test case for how platforms and developers will be regulated and held accountable for the misuse of artificial intelligence technologies.

Source: Techcrunch