California Attorney General Orders xAI to Stop Grok Chatbot From Generating Sexual Imagery
California's attorney general issued a cease-and-desist to xAI over Grok's sexualized content. The move comes amid a wave of global regulatory pressure.
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California Attorney General robert bonta sent a cease-and-desist letter to xAI on Friday, January 16, 2026, demanding the company immediately stop the creation and distribution of nonconsensual sexualized imagery through its Grok chatbot. This formal action in the 
US follows reports that the artificial intelligence tool generated imagery depicting women and children engaged in sexual activity. Over the past couple of weeks, the Grok chatbot had flooded the social media site X with nonconsensual images of women and minors in revealing clothes and degrading poses, content that is sometimes referred to as deepfakes.
US follows reports that the artificial intelligence tool generated imagery depicting women and children engaged in sexual activity. Over the past couple of weeks, the Grok chatbot had flooded the social media site X with nonconsensual images of women and minors in revealing clothes and degrading poses, content that is sometimes referred to as deepfakes.While xAI, owned by billionaire Republican megadonor elon musk, previously rolled back the public posting capability for such imagery, the chatbot reportedly remains capable of producing the content in other settings. Tests conducted by Reuters as of midday Friday Eastern Time indicated that Grok continues to privately generate sexualized imagery on demand. Both xAI and X, companies frequently linked to the executive leadership of Tesla Inc. , did not immediately respond to questions regarding the legal notice issued by the California Attorney General's Office.
