California moves to shut down xAI’s non-consensual deepfakes

California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, on Friday sent a cease and desist letter to Elon Musk's xAI, demanding that it stop the generation and distribution of non-consensual sexual images.

"I fully expect xAI to immediately comply," Bonta said in a news statement on Friday.

Generative AI chatbot Grok has faced a global backlash for allowing users to create and publish sexualized images of women and minors, prompting authorities around the world to take action against the firm behind the tool.

The company said late on Wednesday it had imposed restrictions that limit image-editing for all users of Grok.

Bonta's office opened an investigation into the creation and spread of nonconsensual, sexually explicit material produced using Grok on Wednesday.

Japan, Canada and Britain have opened probes into Grok, while Malaysia and Indonesia have temporarily blocked access to Grok over the creation of explicit images.

Musk's xAI did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the letter.

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