Centre issues notice to X over obscene content generated by Grok AI, seeks action within 72 hours

The Indian central government has taken decisive action against the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, by issuing a notice highlighting serious breaches of the country's IT laws. This notice addresses the alarming distribution of obscene and sexually explicit material created with the platform's AI tool, Grok. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has raised significant concerns regarding the misuse of AI technologies on social media, particularly the creation and dissemination of degrading images targeting women and children. The notice describes the situation as a severe infringement on dignity, privacy, and digital safety, pointing out deficiencies in X's compliance with the Information Technology Act and related regulations. In a stern directive, the government has mandated X to swiftly review Grok’s technical framework, eliminate all unlawful content, take action against users who violate the law, and submit an Action Taken Report within 72 hours. The government emphasized that failure to comply with these legal requirements could lead to serious repercussions for the platform and its responsible officers, as well as for users who engage in unlawful activities. This government action follows a letter from Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who has been vocal about the urgent need to control the misuse of AI tools that sexualize and exploit women through unauthorized images on social media. In her correspondence to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, she stressed the necessity for safeguards to protect women's dignity and called for tech companies to assume greater responsibility in this matter. Chaturvedi expressed gratitude to the government for its prompt response, noting that the actions taken by the IT Ministry are a step towards addressing the growing issue of AI misuse that undermines women's rights and consent on social media platforms. MeitY reiterated that the improper use of AI systems in this way could lead to legal consequences under various Indian laws, emphasizing that intermediaries must actively prevent the spread of obscene and illegal content. This notice comes shortly after MeitY encouraged all social media intermediaries to enhance content moderation practices and strengthen protections against the proliferation of inappropriate material online. The Ministry has insisted that platforms utilizing generative AI tools must maintain rigorous oversight and transparency to mitigate potential harm, especially to vulnerable groups such as women and children.