xAI sues Grok user for generating nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes
SpaceXAI (as xAI) has filed a lawsuit against Terry Wayne Harwood, a 67-year-old man from South Carolina whom the company has accused of using Grok
SpaceXAI (as xAI) has filed a lawsuit against Terry Wayne Harwood, a 67-year-old man from South Carolina whom the company has accused of using Grok to generate sexual images of real people without their consent. In the complaint that xAI filed in Texas, it said that the defendant uploaded non-sexual images of numerous adults and minors to his two xAI accounts from December 8, 2025 until February 18, 2026. He then asked Grok to alter the photos or to create new images and videos depicting the adults and children in them "in a pornographic manner or otherwise sexualizing them." The company said that Grok refused to follow his prompts on "numerous occasions" but that he repeatedly submitted edited prompts to circumvent the AI's safeguards.
In one example mentioned in the filing, xAI said Harwood uploaded the photo of a fully dressed girl around 10 to 11 years old and then asked Grok to remove all of her clothing and make her do a "Playboy model impression" as she laid in bed. Grok refused his request, the lawsuit said, but he kept on submitting modified requests. As Reuters notes, this is one of the first lawsuits brought by an AI company against one of its users, and it sends a message that xAI will sue over the misuse of Grok. Reports started coming out in early January that Grok has been allowing its users to transform photos of real women and children into sexualized images.
Regulators swiftly launched formal investigations into Grok after the scandal blew up. California's authorities started looking into the AI in mid-January, as did UK regulator Ofcom. The European Commission and Ireland's Data Protection Commission opened separate probes, as well. xAI implemented measures to prevent users from generating nonsensual sexual deepfakes when the investigations started. But even after that, users were still able to use Grok to undress men, and Harwood kept on uploading images to his account and using them to generate sexualized edits. The office of South Carolina's Attorney General announced Harwood's arrest on March 9, as part of the activities of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Harwood was charged with three counts of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor and five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree. Harwood didn't just possess child sexual abuse materials, he also distributed them. xAI is now asking asking the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages. It wants the court to order the defendant to pay for the expenses it incurs to defend itself in any legal action that might be filed by his victims.
The BriefWire