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California orders Musk's xAI to stop generating sexual deepfakes immediately [1]

['Ellsworth Toohey']

Date: 2026-01-23  

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a cease and desist letter to xAI ordering Elon Musk's company to stop creating and distributing nonconsensual sexual images, CalMatters reports. The letter cited "numerous examples of xAI taking ordinary, clothed images of women and children" and allowing users "to depict the people in suggestive and sexually explicit scenarios and 'undress' them, all without the subjects' knowledge or consent."

The regulatory pile-on continues: the UK's Ofcom launched a formal investigation, the EU ordered X to retain all Grok-related documents until 2027, and Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines banned the chatbot entirely. India opened its own probe after reports that Grok generated child sexual abuse material.

Ashley St. Clair — the mother of one of Musk's children — is suing xAI, alleging Grok generated and distributed "countless sexually abusive, intimate, and degrading deepfake content" of her. xAI counter-sued, claiming she violated terms of service and seeking $75,000 in damages.

Musk's response: geo-blocking in jurisdictions where the law prohibits it and limiting image editing to paying subscribers. The standalone Grok Imagine app continues generating explicit images.

Previously:

• X faces global investigations as Grok generates deepfake porn of women and minors

• How Musk's decisions led to Grok making abusive deepfakes of kids

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2026/01/23/california-orders-musks-xai-to-stop-generating-sexual-deepfakes-immediately.html

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