In this photo illustration, a person holds a smartphone showing Ani, a virtual anime-style assistant character featured in the Grok 4 AI chatbot developed by xAI, with the Grok logo visible on a screen in the background on July 16, 2025 in Chongqing, China.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images
Elon Musk’s xAI is now facing an investigation in the U.S., led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, after its artificial intelligence chatbot and image generator, Grok, enabled the widespread creation and posting of nonconsensual explicit images based on photos of real people.
In some cases, Grok enabled users to generate images that virtually undressed minors, according to research by the Internet Watch Foundation.
“xAIÂ appears to be facilitating the large-scale production of deepfake nonconsensual intimate images that are being used to harass women and girls across the internet, including via the social media platform X,” Bonta said in a statement Wednesday.
The AG said his office was investigating xAI over “the proliferation of nonconsensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok.”
The U.S. probe follows a more rapid response from a myriad of international government offices, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ireland, Australia and an investigation by the European Commission.
Malaysia and Indonesia have already moved to suspend the use of xAI’s Grok until the issues can be resolved, CNBC previously reported.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
