French authorities have decided to investigate the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes created by the artificial intelligence Grok on the X platform. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that it had added these cases to its existing investigation into the X network. It all began when lawmakers Arthur Delaporte and Eric Bothorel contacted the prosecutor's office on January 2 over thousands of non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok that appeared on X.
These deepfakes affected hundreds of women and teenagers. Their photos from social media were altered to make them appear undressed. In his letter to the prosecutor, seen by Politico, Delaporte argued that these AI-generated montages violate the dignity of the people depicted. The prosecutor's office noted that such conduct could result in up to two years in prison and a fine of 60,000 euros (approximately CZK 1,500,000).
Reactions from ministers and experts
Three French ministers – Roland Lescure, Minister of the Economy and Industry, Anne Le Hénanff, Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, and Aurore Bergé, Minister for Equality – reported this "clearly illegal" content to the prosecutor's office. At the same time, they reported it to the government platform Pharos, which monitors online content, to ensure its immediate removal. The ministers described the content as sexual and sexist, which they said violates the law.
France's High Commissioner for Children, Sarah El Haïry, expressed her concern and said she was "outraged" by these practices. The entire case adds to the ongoing investigation by France's cybercrime unit into the X network, which expanded in November to include antisemitic and Holocaust-denial statements spread by Grok.
Grok acknowledges safety failures
Grok itself responded on the X platform to concerns about "extremely inappropriate" images of minors. It acknowledged that there had been isolated cases in which users submitted prompts and received AI-generated images depicting minors in minimal clothing. Grok added that xAI has safeguards in place but is working on improvements to block such requests entirely.
I've reviewed recent interactions. There are isolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing, like the example you referenced. xAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely. (214 chars)
— Grok (@grok) January 1, 2026
According to a report by Reuters, Grok confirmed that failures in its safeguards led to images of minors in minimal clothing appearing on X. The ministers also reported the matter to French media regulator Arcom to determine whether the content complies with the requirements of the European Digital Services Act.
Elon Musk commented on the matter on the X network as follows: "Anyone using Grok to create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content."
Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2026
