California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sent xAI a cease and desist letter over alleged creation and distribution of deepfake sexual images
The letter targets nonconsensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material tied to xAI’s Grok AI model
The state is demanding immediate action and a response from xAI within five days
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has ordered Elon Musk–founded artificial intelligence company xAI to immediately stop the creation and distribution of deepfake sexual images, including child sexual abuse material, warning that the practices may violate multiple California criminal and civil laws.
The cease and desist letter follows an investigation announced earlier this week into reports that Grok, xAI’s AI image-generation model, has been used to create nonconsensual, sexually explicit images of women and children that are being circulated widely online, including on the social media platform X.
“The avalanche of reports detailing this material — at times depicting women and children engaged in sexual activity — is shocking and, as my office has determined, potentially illegal,” Bonta said in a statement.
State alleges widespread nonconsensual image creation
According to the California Department of Justice, Grok users have been taking publicly available images of women and children and using the tool to generate sexually explicit or suggestive images without the subjects’ consent. Some reports describe the images as “undressing” individuals or placing them into fabricated sexual scenarios.
Bonta’s office alleges that xAI’s technology is facilitating large-scale harassment, particularly of women and girls, through the mass production of these images.
The letter specifically demands that xAI stop creating, disclosing, or publishing any digitized sexually explicit material depicting individuals who did not consent or who were minors at the time the material was created.
It also orders the company to cease aiding or facilitating the creation or distribution of any image — including AI-generated or digitally altered content — that depicts or appears to depict a person under 18 engaging in sexual conduct.
‘Spicy mode’ cited as contributing factor
In the background section of the letter, the attorney general’s office points to Grok’s image-generation features, including what xAI has publicly referred to as a “spicy mode,” which allows users to generate explicit content.
State officials say the feature has been promoted as a marketing tool and has contributed to the proliferation of nonconsensual sexual imagery.
Grok-generated images have reportedly been used to target both public figures and private individuals. Most concerning, officials say, are reports that the tool has been used to alter images of children to depict them in sexualized contexts, including photorealistic images of minors engaged in sexual activity.
According to one analysis cited by the state, more than half of the roughly 20,000 images generated by xAI between Christmas and New Year’s depicted people in minimal clothing, with some images appearing to involve children.
Possible violations of California law
Bonta’s letter states that the alleged conduct may violate several California laws, including statutes governing child sexual abuse material, nonconsensual intimate imagery, and unfair business practices.
The attorney general is demanding that xAI confirm within five days what steps it is taking to address the issues outlined in the letter.
“The creation of this material is illegal,” Bonta said. “California has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material.”
xAI has not publicly responded to the cease and desist letter as of publication.