xAI's Grok Generated Deepfake Images of British MP Jess Asato

British lawmaker Jess Asato filed a claim at the High Court in England against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging the company’s Grok AI system generated and distributed non-consensual sexualized images of her. Asato, the Suffolk MP and a member of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, issued a statement on Wednesday announcing the lawsuit.

She said Grok created deepfake pornography and sexualised content which harmed thousands of women and children.

The MP stated that after she condemned Grok in January, users created and shared fake images depicting her in a bikini and a video showing her being chloroformed and prepared for a sexual assault. She described the system’s capabilities as a design choice by its creators rather than an accident or misuse.

Law firm AWO, representing Asato, said the claim alleges breaches of data protection law and misuse of private information.

The remedies sought include damages, a formal acknowledgement that the conduct was illegal, and an order requiring xAI to stop all further illegality. “This is one of the first claims to test liability for the design of an AI system, and we hope it will make it clear to AI developers that safety cannot be an afterthought,” said Ravi Naik, legal director of AWO.

Grok is distributed through Musk’s social media platform X and remains subject to regulatory probes in several countries.

In mid-January, xAI said it restricted image editing in Grok and blocked users from generating images of people in revealing clothing in jurisdictions where it is illegal. In early February, Reuters reported that Grok continued to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warned that the subjects do not consent.

In March, the City of Baltimore sued xAI, claiming Grok’s ability to create fake sexualized images violated the city’s consumer protection law.