Class-Action Lawsuit Targets xAI’s Grok After Wyoming Stepfather Creates 7,000 CSAM Images

A class-action lawsuit against X.ai over its Grok tool was amended to add two more anonymous plaintiffs, Jane Does 4 and 5, who say family members or others used Grok to create nonconsensual deepfake child sexual assault material (CSAM) based on their real photos and videos.

“One of the most horrific cases of allegedly Grok-generated child sex images was shared in a proposed class action lawsuit that was expanded Tuesday”

Ars Technica

CyberScoop reported that Jane Doe 4, from Wyoming, says her stepfather uploaded a photo of her when she was 11 and used Grok to create more than 7,000 CSAM-related images, which he then shared and traded on social media platforms.

Ars Technica

The amended complaint alleges the stepfather chose Grok because it was “less restrictive than other AI models and responded to his prompts to generate sexually explicit material using an image depicting a prepubescent minor.”

CyberScoop also reported that the lawsuit says xAI generated a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in February, but only submitted the original, authentic image as evidence and did not respond when law enforcement requested the thousands of Grok-generated images based on the photo and IP address information.

The lawsuit describes a sequence in which, after a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted law enforcement to AI CSAM, xAI allegedly refused to help identify the perpetrator and repeatedly obstructed investigators.

Ars Technica reported that in March, a girl’s stepfather took his own life after cops discovered he used Grok to create 7,000 sexually explicit images using one photo taken when his stepdaughter was 11.

CyberScoop

Ars Technica also quoted the amended complaint alleging that xAI allegedly “obstructed this investigation at every turn” and made it harder for “law enforcement efforts to locate, identify, and apprehend the perpetrator.”

In the same case, Ars Technica said a forensic review revealed “approximately 7,000 AI-generated images and videos” depicting the stepdaughter, which the complaint alleges were produced using Grok.

Beyond the U.S. litigation, the European Commission opened a formal investigation into Grok after backlash over the platform’s failure to prevent sexually explicit images of real people, including children, from being created and disseminated.

“A report estimates that Elon Musk's AI tool Grok produced an average of 190 sexualized images per minute over an 11-day period”

EL PAÍS

Euronews reported that the Commission could impose a fine of up to 6% of its worldwide annual turnover if it finds X violated EU rules on online platforms under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Euronews also said the Commission sent a data-protection information request and was reviewing X’s response, while noting that in December last year it already fined Elon Musk’s social network €120 million for practices regarding account verification and advertising.

In parallel, Euractiv reported that xAI responded to Bloomberg information about Grok producing images of children dressed in a “minimal” manner with a terse automated message: “Legacy Media Lies,” while Grok acknowledged “isolated cases” and said it had “identified gaps” in its safety measures and was working to fix them “as a matter of urgency.”