xAI sues user for allegedly generating CSAM deepfakes with Grok

Elon Musk’s xAI filed a lawsuit against Terry Wayne Harwood, a South Carolina man, alleging he knowingly used the company’s Grok chatbot to generate and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM). According to the complaint, Harwood bypassed Grok’s safeguards and abused the tool to convert non-sexual photographs into sexually explicit images without the subjects’ consent. The lawsuit states that at least some of the images tied to Harwood’s criminal case were generated or altered using Grok.

Harwood was arrested in February and faces eight felony charges related to the possession and distribution of CSAM. xAI claims Harwood’s alleged actions exposed the company to significant legal risk and reputational damage, and is seeking damages as well as an injunction to block him from creating an xAI account or using Grok.

The lawsuit follows earlier reporting that xAI added image-editing capabilities to Grok last year, which led to a surge in sexualized AI deepfakes, including images of minors. In March, a group of teens sued xAI, alleging Grok generated sexualized images of them as minors. Elon Musk responded publicly that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would face consequences equivalent to uploading illegal content.

xAI’s complaint seeks reimbursement for legal expenses incurred defending itself in any legal action filed by victims of Harwood’s alleged conduct, in addition to damages and injunctive relief.