The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has sent a follow-up notice to X Corp after finding the company’s response to concerns over the misuse of its artificial intelligence tool Grok inadequate, according to government sources.
Officials said that while the Elon Musk-owned platform has conveyed its willingness to act against users who generate objectionable content, including permanently disabling accounts, the response does not clearly spell out the technical safeguards being put in place to prevent such content from being generated in the first instance.
What did X Corp say?
“In their response, X Corp said that they are committed to following Indian laws. However, their response doesn’t detail out the technical measures being taken to prevent this sort of misuse. We are not satisfied with the response and a follow-up notice has been sent,” a government official said.
In its reply to MeitY, X is understood to have acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and assured compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and related rules. The company also reportedly reiterated that it would act against accounts prompting Grok to generate non-consensual obscene images or videos, and said it had already blocked content flagged by the government.
However, officials indicated that these assurances fall short of addressing the core concern flagged by the ministry. According to them, the response focuses largely on post-facto action against users rather than preventive controls embedded within the AI system itself.
Lack of Clarity on AI Safeguards
“There is very little clarity on any concrete changes to Grok’s responses or safeguards,” another official said, adding that the government has now asked X to provide details of the specific technical and procedural measures it has adopted to curb misuse of the tool.
The issue dates back to January 2, when MeitY issued a notice to X Corp’s India compliance head. The notice cited concerns over the misuse of Grok to generate and circulate obscene and sexually explicit content on the platform.
The letter pointed to reports of women being targeted through manipulated prompts, fake accounts and the creation of synthetic images, raising questions around the adequacy of safeguards in generative AI systems deployed on large social media platforms.
Officials said the follow-up notice seeks greater transparency on how Grok is being trained, moderated and restricted to ensure compliance with Indian law, and whether additional safeguards will be introduced to prevent similar instances going forward.
