India has positioned itself as a significant benchmark for how governments manage the accountability of digital platforms concerning AI-generated content. In a recent directive, India’s Information Technology (IT) Ministry ordered Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, to implement immediate corrective actions on its AI chatbot Grok, following concerns over the generation of “obscene” content.
The IT ministry’s order specifically mandates that X restrict the creation of material featuring “nudity, sexualization, sexually explicit, or otherwise unlawful” content. This is a good step, as it finally responds to users’ and lawmakers’ reports of some really scary behaviors. They reported the cases when Grok produced modified images of women, including sexualized images—like women showing up in bikinis.
To counter this, the ministry is doing the carrot-and-stick approach and imposing a pretty tight timeline for compliance. Elon Musk’s X is required to file an action-taken report. This report must explain what was done to avoid hosting or spreading inappropriate content within 72 hours. The directive underscores the need to make technical and procedural modifications to Grok to ensure compliance with guidance established by local legal precedent.
This latest order follows only days after the Indian IT ministry released a more general advisory. The advisory called on social media platforms to take notice of their obligation under local laws to prohibit obscene and sexually explicit content. Adherence to such regulations is stated as a requirement for platforms to keep the legal immunity from liability regarding user-created content that they currently enjoy.
The advisory further underscored the importance for firms to strengthen their internal protections. Not doing so would expose social media platforms to legal liability under India’s IT rules and criminal code. The conflict intensified when Indian parliamentarian Priyanka Chaturvedi lodged an official grievance about the misuse of Grok. She pointed to the growing need for transparency and accountability from digital platforms.
Much like India’s TikTok ban, Elon Musk’s X has complied with nearly every blocking order issued by the Indian government. For now, it continues to meaningfully oppose some of India’s content regulation policies in court.
“The generation of obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, pedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under law content cannot be tolerated.” – Ministry of Information Technology
With these moves, India is signaling that flouting will not go unpunished. The IT ministry’s recent moves point to a dangerous trend around the world to censor governments. They are leaning hard on tech companies to be responsible for the content created by their AI systems. As AI technology grows and changes, the call for strong regulations and responsible practices grows even louder.
