Elon Musk’s X to remove illegal content, permanently ban offending users

In a decisive move to curb the proliferation of unlawful material, microblogging platform X, owned by Elon Musk, has affirmed that it will take stringent action against illegal content, including that generated through its AI service, Grok.

The declaration, issued on Sunday by X’s Global Government Affairs account, underscores the platform’s commitment to removing offending content, permanently suspending violators’ accounts, and cooperating with local authorities as required.

The announcement comes in the wake of growing concern over AI-generated content misused to circulate obscene, vulgar, or defamatory material. Musk himself weighed in, stating that “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”. The reiteration by the Global Government Affairs team reinforced this stance, noting that the platform’s measures extend to all forms of illicit content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

“Anyone using or prompting Grok to create illegal content will face the same consequences as uploading it directly,” the handle said, also providing links to X’s rules. These guidelines permit sharing of consensually produced adult content, provided it is properly labelled and not prominently displayed, highlighting the platform’s nuanced approach to regulation.

The Indian government has been increasingly vigilant in monitoring content on X, identifying instances of vulgar, obscene, and otherwise unlawful material that violates local laws. The statement follows a directive issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on 2 January, instructing X to immediately remove all such content, particularly that generated by Grok, or face legal repercussions. The ministry has also asked for a detailed action taken report within 72 hours of the order.

Concerns had been raised earlier by Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who highlighted the misuse of Grok to generate derogatory and obscene images of women, circulating on social media under fake accounts. MeitY’s order emphasised that such content not only violates decency and obscenity laws but also serves to indecently denigrate women, necessitating swift and strict action from social media firms.

The advisory follows repeated observations that platforms have been slow to act against obscene, vulgar, or unlawful content. X’s latest statement signals an assertive commitment to compliance, aiming to create a safer digital environment while balancing the legitimate sharing of adult content within the bounds of law.

With this dual-pronged approach — combining content moderation, AI oversight, and collaboration with authorities — X seeks to ensure that its vast digital ecosystem does not become a conduit for illegality, sending a clear warning that misuse of technology will not be tolerated.

With PTI inputs