The Indian government has granted a 72-hour extension for Elon Musk-owned platform X (formerly Twitter) to respond to critical questions regarding its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Grok. Sources report that the platform is now required to submit its response by 5 PM on January 7 to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity). The inquiry follows reports that Grok was able to generate objectionable images of women and children upon user request.
Extended Timeline for Compliance
The extension was requested by X, citing holidays in the U.S. and the unavailability of key members from their global and legal teams. In the meantime, the platform has complied with government directives to remove all illegal and objectionable content.
Earlier this week, Meity had instructed X to immediately disable access to all content that violates applicable laws, in accordance with the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2021. Specifically, the ministry urged X to enforce its terms of service and restrictions on AI usage to take decisive actions against accounts misusing Grok.
Musk’s Warning to Users
Following the ministry’s letter, Elon Musk issued a stern warning via his platform, cautioning users that “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.” This underscores the platform’s intent to enforce compliance with legal standards.
User Backlash and Government Accountability
The ability to create sexually explicit and objectionable images using Grok has sparked significant backlash, especially from women, many of whom have expressed their concerns by tagging the chatbot. They have also urged that their images should not be used to create inappropriate content.
Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that social media platforms must take responsibility for the content they host. He stressed the importance of intervention to ensure proper content moderation in today’s influential digital landscape.
Stricter Guidelines for Social Media Platforms
In a series of directives, the IT ministry has instructed all social media companies to remove obscene content or face stringent actions. The latest advisory calls for increased diligence from platforms in identifying, reporting, and swiftly removing content that is obscene, indecent, vulgar, or otherwise unlawful.
As discussions continue around the responsible use of AI and the accountability of social media platforms, X now faces pressure not only from government authorities but also from its user base to ensure the responsible deployment of technologies like Grok.