Chloe Atkins reports for the NBC News National Security and Law Unit, based in New York.
The city of Baltimore sued Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, on Tuesday, alleging that its tool, Grok, has continued to generate nonconsensual sexual images in violation of the city's consumer protection and deceptive practice laws.
The complaint claims that users on Musk's social media platform, X, are at risk of being exposed to the Grok-generated content “simply by using a mainstream consumer social media platform” and are at risk of having their own photos “transformed into sexually degrading deepfakes without their knowledge or consent.” Baltimore said those risks did not align with xAI's marketing, which it said positioned Grok and X as safe platforms and products for users, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court. “Baltimore residents have a reasonable expectation that they will not be exposed to this illegal content on X, and that X will not harass its own customers with Grok-generated deepfakes,” the complaint says. In its lawsuit, the city says Grok’s “most controversial offerings,” dubbed “spicy mode,” allow users to ask Grok to undress or nudify photos of celebrities and private citizens, including children. As a result, it places many in “sexually suggestive, degrading, or violent scenarios,” the complaint says. In an analysis cited in the complaint, the Center for Countering Digital Hate reported that from Dec. 29 to Jan. 8 Grok created 3 million sexualized images, including around 20,000 depicting children. Baltimore claimed that Grok made “obscene and offensive modifications” to content, including placing a “donut glaze” on a child’s face. A female victim alleges that, in another instance, Grok “non-consensually undressed her and eventually generated images of her completely naked.” Grok's generation of such images has often come as a result of user requests. Undressing images using Grok became a trend among users in January. The city also alleged that Musk himself promoted the tool’s editing capabilities by participating in the trend by posting an edited photo of himself in a bikini. “Musk’s post functioned as public endorsement of Grok’s ability to generate sexualized or revealing edits of real people, and it signaled to users that these uses of Grok were acceptable, humorous, and encouraged,” the complaint says. Eventually, X pulled back some of Grok's ability to create such images directly on the platform, but Grok could still make such images in other parts of the app, on its standalone website and on its app. In a statement, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott said, “These deepfakes, especially those depicting minors, have traumatic, lifelong consequences for victims — who are left with no way to prevent the spread of disturbing, sexualized images created of them without their consent.” Scott added, “Our city will not stand by and allow this to continue; it’s a threat to privacy, dignity, and public safety, and those responsible must be held accountable.” Baltimore is seeking the “maximum amount of statutory penalties”; the filing does not specify total damages. The city is also calling on the court to order Musk’s company to “cease the targeting and exploitation of Baltimore’s residents” and require it “to reform their exploitative platform design feature restrictions and enhanced marketing restrictions,” according to the filing. Last week, a group of teenagers in Tennessee sued xAI, claiming Grok created sexually explicit images of them as minors. Baltimore appears to be the first city government to file such a lawsuit against xAI. Since the undressing trend initially sparked controversy in early January, governments and political bodies including the European Union, the state of California and House Democrats have announced various inquiries and investigations into Grok and its undressing abilities. xAI and X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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