Grok has already taken extensive heat after the AI chatbot’s image generation tool was used to create an estimated 3 million sexualized images over 11 days, including 23,000 of minors, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Regulators around the world have limited access or launched investigations into the platform’s potentially illegal and nonconsensual image generation. The US government hasn’t made any moves against xAI or its platform at the federal level, but today, the city of Baltimore began a municipal lawsuit against the company.
The lawsuit takes a different tactic, arguing that Elon Musk’s businesses violated the city’s Consumer Protection Ordinance. This complaint, as reported by The Guardian, said that xAI marketed Grok as an all-purpose AI assistant without disclosing the risks and exposure to harm of using both Grok and the X social network.
“Baltimore’s consumer protection laws exist to safeguard residents from exactly this kind of emerging harm,” City Solicitor Ebony M. Thompson said. “When companies introduce powerful technologies without adequate guardrails, the City has both the authority and the obligation to act. We are stepping in now to protect our residents, hold these companies accountable, and prevent these harms from becoming further entrenched as this technology continues to evolve.”
The other notable action against Grok within the US stemmed from a potential class action filed by three teenagers who alleged that photos of them were used to create child sexual abuse material.
