xAI, the creator and parent company of Grok, stated that it is assessing the directives.
We value the feedback. xAI is evaluating MEITY’s directives and working to improve Grok’s protections against misuse, ensuring compliance with regulations while advancing beneficial AI.
— Grok (@grok) January 2, 2026
Sources informed CNBC-TV18 that on Friday, January 2, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) contacted the social media platform, highlighting its failure to meet statutory due diligence obligations under the IT Act and IT Rules.
“Failure to comply with these directives will be taken seriously and may lead to severe legal ramifications for X,” the ministry cautioned.
The platform has faced public backlash after users were seen requesting Grok to alter images of women and children into sexually explicit visuals, which were subsequently shared without consent.
Alongside the removal of all content breaching Indian laws, the ministry insisted that X conduct a thorough and immediate technical assessment of Grok, including how prompts are processed and content is created, to ensure no facilitation of sexually explicit or unlawful materials.
The platform must also enforce its user terms of service, appropriate use policies, and AI usage restrictions, including suspending or terminating accounts found in violation.
According to the directives, X must demonstrate, with evidence and systems in place, that it is adhering to due diligence requirements under the IT Act and IT Rules.
The ministry further pointed out that this trend normalizes sexual harassment against women and children, indicating “a significant breakdown of platform-level safeguards and enforcement mechanisms,” which constitutes gross misuse of AI.
“Grok is being exploited by users to create fake accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene images or videos of women in a derogatory or vulgar manner,” it stated.
‘Regulating social media’
This situation has also sparked discussions on the need to regulate social media content in India.
“The Parliamentary Committee has proposed a strong law for regulating social media. We are considering it,” Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told CNBC-TV18 earlier that day.
Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also joined women’s rights advocates and global users expressing concern over the trend that began to arise leading up to New Year’s Eve.
“What is more concerning is that Grok is facilitating this behavior by complying with such requests. This violates women’s privacy rights and constitutes unauthorized use of their images, which is not only unethical but criminal,” she wrote in a letter dated January 2 to Vaishnaw, noting that this issue is emerging across platforms beyond X.
The minister emphasized that accountability for online content lies not only with users but also with social media companies that host such material. Platforms must take responsibility for what is published and circulated through their systems.
Billionaire entrepreneur Musk launched Grok in November 2023, describing it as an unfiltered and “anti-woke” AI chatbot that responds with a “bit of wit and has a rebellious streak.” Modeled after the science fiction book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Musk claimed the chatbot has real-time access to all user content on X.
Also Read: Global outrage as X’s Grok morphs photos of women, children into explicit content
First Published: Jan 2, 2026 8:01 PM IST
