tech
Baltimore is first U.S. city to sue over Grok deepfake porn as legal pressure mounts on Musk's xAI
Following international regulatory probes, lawsuits are piling up in the U.S. against Elon Musk's xAI and its Grok chatbot.
TL;DR
- Baltimore is the first U.S. city to sue Elon Musk's xAI over its Grok image generator.
- The lawsuit accuses xAI of violating consumer protection laws and engaging in deceptive trade practices.
- Grok is alleged to have enabled the mass creation of deepfake pornography, including child sexual abuse material.
- Mayor Brandon Scott stated that the deepfakes have traumatic consequences for victims and threaten privacy, dignity, and public safety.
- Elon Musk's participation in a 'put her in a bikini' trend using Grok is cited as a public endorsement of its capabilities.
- The city seeks statutory penalties and injunctive relief to curb the creation of non-consenting intimate images and CSAM.
- xAI faces regulatory probes in several countries and a proposed class-action lawsuit in Tennessee.
- A U.K. report indicates girls are overwhelmingly targeted by CSAM, making up 97% of illegal AI-generated sexualized images assessed in 2025.