X Admits Lapse, Removes Over 600 Accounts and Bans Pornographic Images: Government Sources

Amid growing controversy over the misuse of its Artificial Intelligence tool Grok, social media platform X has acknowledged lapses on its part and assured the Indian government that it will operate strictly in accordance with Indian laws, according to official government sources.

Sources said that X has taken corrective action by removing more than 600 accounts found to be in violation of Indian legal provisions and disabling close to 3,500 posts. The platform has also conveyed to authorities that it will no longer permit pornographic content to be created or circulated on its services.

“X has acknowledged its error and stated that it will operate in compliance with Indian laws,” a government official said, adding that remedial measures have already been initiated by the platform.

The development comes after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a formal notice to X on January 2, granting the company 72 hours to meet its statutory obligations under Indian law.

In recent days, X had witnessed a surge in user activity following the viral spread of content generated through its AI chatbot, Grok. The chatbot gained widespread attention after a controversial swimsuit-related trend, leading users to increasingly rely on the tool for generating images, explanations, and contextual information across a wide range of topics.

However, MeitY raised serious concerns over the misuse of Grok, which is integrated into the X platform. In its communication to the company, the Ministry highlighted that the AI tool was being exploited through prompts, image manipulation, and synthetic outputs to generate and distribute vulgar, obscene, and sexually explicit images and videos, particularly targeting women.

The Ministry noted that such content violates provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, as well as the Information Technology Act, 2000. It further stated that the unchecked circulation of such material reflects inadequate platform-level safeguards and poses a serious threat to the safety, dignity, and Privacy of women and children.

MeitY reminded X that as a significant social media intermediary, it is legally obligated to comply with the IT Act and the IT Rules, 2021. The Ministry warned that non-compliance could lead to the withdrawal of safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, in addition to further legal action under applicable laws.

As part of its directive, the Ministry instructed X to conduct a comprehensive technical and governance-level assessment of Grok, strictly enforce its user policies, immediately remove unlawful content, and submit an Action Taken Report within the stipulated 72-hour period.

According to government sources, X has now acted on the flagged content, acknowledged the concerns raised by MeitY, and committed to strengthening its safeguards to prevent the generation and dissemination of pornographic material on the platform going forward.