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The authorities has fixed X further clip till January 7, 2026, to taxable a elaborate Action Taken Report aft it issued a stern informing to the Elon Musk-led societal media level implicit indecent and sexually-explicit contented being generated done misuse of AI-based services similar 'Grok' and different tools.
The assistance of hold came aft X sought further clip from the IT Ministry, sources told PTI.
On Sunday (January 4, 2026), X's 'Safety' grip said it would instrumentality enactment against amerciable contented connected its platform, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and moving with section governments and instrumentality enforcement arsenic necessary.
"Anyone utilizing oregon prompting Grok to marque amerciable contented volition endure the aforesaid consequences arsenic if they upload amerciable content," it had said, reiterating Mr. Musk's stance connected amerciable content.
Government sources said X had sought much time, and present it had been asked to taxable its study by January 7.
The Centre connected Friday (January 2) pulled up X and directed it to instantly region each vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, particularly generated by Grok (X's built-in artificial quality interface) oregon look enactment nether the law. The Ministry had besides asked the U.S.-based societal media steadfast to taxable a elaborate enactment taken study (ATR) wrong 72 hours of the directive (effectively by January 5).
The IT Ministry, successful its January 2 missive, said Grok AI, developed by X and integrated connected the platform, was being misused by users to make fake accounts to host, generate, people oregon stock obscene images oregon videos of women successful a derogatory oregon vulgar manner.
"Importantly, this is not constricted to instauration of fake accounts but besides targets women who big oregon people their images oregon videos, done prompts, representation manipulation and synthetic outputs," the Ministry said, asserting that specified behaviour reflected a superior nonaccomplishment of platform-level safeguards and enforcement mechanisms, and amounted to gross misuse of artificial quality (AI) technologies successful usurpation of stipulated laws.
The Ministry said the regulatory provisions nether the IT Act and rules were being flouted by the platform, peculiarly successful narration to obscene, indecent, vulgar, pornographic, paedophilic, oregon different unlawful oregon harmful content.
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"The aforesaid acts and omissions are viewed with sedate concern, arsenic they person the effect of violating the dignity, privateness and information of women and children, normalising intersexual harassment and exploitation successful integer spaces, and undermining the statutory owed diligence model applicable to intermediaries operating successful India," the IT Ministry said.
The authorities made it wide to X that compliance with the IT Act and rules was not optional, and that the statutory exemptions nether Section 79 of the IT Act (which deals with harmless harbour and immunity from liability for online intermediaries) were conditional upon strict observance of owed diligence obligations.
"Accordingly, you are advised to strictly desist from the hosting, displaying, uploading, publication, transmission, storage, sharing of immoderate contented connected your level that is obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, paedophilic, oregon different prohibited nether immoderate law...," the Ministry said connected January 2.
The authorities warned X in wide presumption that immoderate nonaccomplishment to observe owed diligence obligations shall effect successful the nonaccomplishment of the exemption from liability nether Section 79 of the IT Act, and that the level would besides beryllium liable for consequential enactment nether different laws, including the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It asked X to enforce idiosyncratic presumption of work and AI usage restrictions, including ensuring beardown deterrent measures specified arsenic suspension, termination and different enforcement actions against violating users and accounts.
X has besides been asked to region oregon disable entree "without delay" to each contented already generated oregon disseminated successful usurpation of applicable laws, successful strict compliance with the timelines prescribed nether the IT Rules, 2021, without, arsenic such, vitiating the evidence.
The Ministry has asked X to taxable a elaborate Action Taken Report (ATR) wrong 72 hours of the day of issuance of the said letter.
The ATR, it said, indispensable screen circumstantial method and organisational measures adopted oregon projected successful narration to the Grok application; the relation and oversight exercised by the Chief Compliance Officer; actions taken against offending content, users and accounts; arsenic good arsenic mechanisms to guarantee compliance with the mandatory reporting request nether Indian laws.
"...ensure ongoing, demonstrable and auditable compliance with each owed diligence obligations nether the IT Act and the IT Rules, 2021, failing which due enactment whitethorn beryllium initiated, including the nonaccomplishment of the exemption from liability nether Section 79 of the IT Act, and consequential enactment arsenic provided nether immoderate instrumentality including the IT Act and the BNS," the Ministry wrote.
Besides India, the level has been facing disapproval from authorities successful the U.K. and Malaysia too. Ofcom, the U.K.'s autarkic communications regulator, successful a caller societal media station said: "We are alert of superior concerns raised astir a diagnostic connected Grok connected X that produces undressed images of radical and sexualised images of children".
"We person made urgent interaction with X and xAI to recognize what steps they person taken to comply with their ineligible duties to support users successful the U.K. Based connected their response, we volition undertake a swift appraisal to find whether determination are imaginable compliance issues that warrant investigation," Ofcom said.
