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The online network X has sparked significant anger after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of women by taking off their garments.

Numerous cases have been seen where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.

Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position

XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".

A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".

"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."

Regulator Position and Tool Functionality

The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.

Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they reference it in a message.

It is frequently used to give reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.

Background of Controversy and Rules

The tool has been condemned for enabling users to produce photos and videos with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate content of celebrities.

"X has been enabling the production and sharing of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.

XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying images of individuals in a graphic fashion".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.

It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they learn of it.