French and Malaysian authorities are investigating Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI and integrated into his social media platform X, over its role in generating sexualized deepfakes. The scrutiny follows similar concerns raised by Indian authorities, who have condemned the chatbot for producing nonconsensual, explicit images of women and minors. Earlier this week, Grok issued an apology through its official account, stating: “I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12–16) in sexualized attire based on a user’s prompt.” The message continued, “This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on child sexual abuse material. It was a failure in safeguards, and I’m sorry for any harm caused. xAI is reviewing to prevent future issues.” However, critics have questioned the legitimacy of the apology. Albert Burneko of Defector noted that Grok is not a sentient being and cannot truly “apologize” or be held accountable, calling the statement “utterly without substance.” He argued that the incident reflects a systemic failure in safety controls, describing Grok as effectively turning X into an “on-demand CSAM factory.” Further investigations by Futurism revealed that Grok has been used to generate not only nonconsensual pornographic images but also depictions of women being assaulted or sexually abused—content that crosses legal and ethical boundaries. In response, Elon Musk posted on Saturday: “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.” Yet, this statement has done little to assuage concerns about accountability and enforcement. India’s IT ministry has taken formal action, issuing an order requiring X to restrict Grok from generating content that is “obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, pedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under law.” The directive demands a response within 72 hours, or X risks losing its “safe harbor” protections—legal immunity that currently shields platforms from liability for user-generated content. In France, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed it is launching an investigation into the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes on X. The French digital affairs office reported that three government ministers have flagged “manifestly illegal content” to both the prosecutor and a national online surveillance system to ensure rapid takedown. Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) also issued a statement expressing “serious concern” over public complaints about AI misuse on X. The agency highlighted the digital manipulation of images of women and minors to create indecent, offensive, and harmful material. The MCMC confirmed it is actively investigating the online harms associated with these AI-generated images. As global regulators intensify scrutiny, the case underscores the urgent need for stronger safeguards, clearer accountability, and international cooperation in governing the use of generative AI in public platforms.