The defendant used Grok to create sexualized photographs of adults and youngsters, xAI says.
SpaceXAI (as xAI) has filed a lawsuit towards Terry Wayne Harwood, a 67-year-old man from South Carolina whom the corporate has accused of utilizing Grok to generate sexual photographs of actual individuals with out their consent. Within the grievance that xAI filed in Texas, it stated that the defendant uploaded non-sexual photographs of quite a few adults and minors to his two xAI accounts from December 8, 2025 till February 18, 2026. He then requested Grok to change the images or to create new photographs and movies depicting the adults and youngsters in them “in a pornographic method or in any other case sexualizing them.”
The corporate stated that Grok refused to comply with his prompts on “quite a few events” however that he repeatedly submitted edited prompts to bypass the AI’s safeguards. In a single instance talked about within the submitting, xAI stated Harwood uploaded the picture of a totally dressed lady round 10 to 11 years outdated after which requested Grok to take away all of her clothes and make her do a “Playboy mannequin impression” as she laid in mattress. Grok refused his request, the lawsuit stated, however he saved on submitting modified requests. As Reuters notes, this is among the first lawsuits introduced by an AI firm towards certainly one of its customers, and it sends a message that xAI will sue over the misuse of Grok.
Reports began popping out in early January that Grok has been permitting its customers to rework images of actual girls and youngsters into sexualized photographs. Regulators swiftly launched formal investigations into Grok after the scandal blew up. California’s authorities began trying into the AI in mid-January, as did UK regulator Ofcom. The European Commission and Eire’s Data Protection Commission opened separate probes, as nicely.
xAI implemented measures to forestall customers from producing nonsensual sexual deepfakes when the investigations began. However even after that, customers had been nonetheless ready to make use of Grok to undress men, and Harwood saved on importing photographs to his account and utilizing them to generate sexualized edits.
The workplace of South Carolina’s Lawyer Basic introduced Harwood’s arrest on March 9, as a part of the actions of the Web Crimes Towards Kids Process Pressure. Harwood was charged with three counts of second diploma sexual exploitation of a minor and 5 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor within the third diploma. Harwood did not simply possess youngster sexual abuse supplies, he additionally distributed them.
xAI is now asking asking the court docket for an unspecified quantity of financial damages. It needs the court docket to order the defendant to pay for the bills it incurs to defend itself in any authorized motion that could be filed by his victims.
