Teenage girls sue Musk’s xAI, accusing Grok tool of creating child sexual abuse material
A group of three teenage girls, two of whom are minors, filed a lawsuit on Monday against Elon Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence company alleging that its Grok image generator used photos of them to produce and distribute child sexual abuse material.The class-action lawsuit is the first filed by minors following Grok’s rampant generation of nonconsensual nude images earlier this year.“xAI chose to profit off the sexual predation of real people, including children, despite knowing full well the consequences of creating such a dangerous product,” Vanessa Baehr-Jones, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement.The suit, which was brought by three Tennessee teenagers but filed in California, where xAI is headquartered, details how the girls discovered that nude, AI-altered images of them were uploaded to a Discord server and shared online without their knowledge.After they alerted law enforcement to the images, according to the complaint, police arrested a suspect later that month and found child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on his phone that was allegedly produced using xAI’s image and video generation technology.
xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.The suit alleges that the CSAM was created using a third-party app that licensed and relied on Grok’s AI to produce the material.The Washington Post first reported on the case.The lawsuit joins several other legal actions and international investigations into xAI over its creation and dissemination of nonconsensual sexualized images, including another lawsuit from the mother of one of Musk’s children and a formal European Union inquiry.At the peak of the scandal, researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate calculated that Grok had created about 3m sexualized images in less than two weeks – around 23,000 of which depicted children.
Musk has previously denied that Grok has been used to produce CSAM, claiming in January that he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok.Literally zero.”He also alleged that Grok would not generate any illegal images, and that its operating principle was to follow local laws.In the complaint, filed on Monday, lawyers for the teenage plaintiffs detailed how the girls discovered that AI-altered nude images of them were being circulated online.One girl, referred to as Jane Doe 1, received a message on Instagram in December from an anonymous user, who alerted her that someone in her social circle had uploaded a series of deepfake videos and images to a Discord server that depicted her and other girls from her high school naked and in sexualized positions, according to the complaint.
Jane Doe noticed that three of the photos appeared to be AI-altered images of photographs taken while she was a minor, including one from her school’s homecoming celebration.Criminal investigators later also discovered that the images had been shared on the messaging app Telegram, according to the complaint, where they were allegedly being used as a currency to barter for other child sexual abuse material.“The images showed her entire body, including her genitals, without any clothes.The video depicted her undressing until she was entirely nude,” the complaint states.The other plaintiffs in the suit discovered in February that similar CSAM material featuring them had also been generated via AI and shared online, with the suit seeking damages against xAI for the reputational and mental health harms resulting from the images.
“Watching my daughter have a panic attack after realizing that these images were created and distributed without any hope of recalling them was heartbreaking,” the mother of one of the girls said via a representative,Although the complaint alleges that the images were created using a third-party application accessing Grok’s technology rather than directly on the X website or Grok app, the complaint argues that this use still requires xAI’s servers and that xAI profits from licensing its technology to these apps,Lawyers for the plaintiffs accuse xAI of effectively off-loading liability through its licensing structure and lack of oversight,
Joy of chess keeps dark times in check | Brief letters
Flicking through the paper, I remarked that it was all bad news and upsetting items. Then I came across the centrefold photograph taken in Erzurum, Turkey and found myself close to tears. Young and old chess players together in a coffee house. What a great picture.Carol TaylorDarley Dale, Derbyshire Regarding unusual measurements (Letters, 15 March) my Scottish mother used to send me to the local Co-op to purchase a forpit of potatoes: a fourth part of a stone, ie three and a half pounds
Broncos reportedly send first-round pick to Dolphins in return for receiver Waddle
The Denver Broncos have reportedly traded for Miami Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle, a move that would add offensive firepower to a team that fell one win short of the Super Bowl last season.ESPN reports that the Broncos will send first-, third- and fourth-round picks in this year’s draft to the Dolphins in return for Waddle. The Broncos will also receive Miami’s fourth-round pick as part of the deal. If the deal is confirmed, the Dolphins will own the 11th and 30th picks in the first round of this year’s draft as they attempt to build around newly acquired quarterback Malik Willis.The Dolphins selected Waddle with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, reuniting him with his college quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was released by the Dolphins earlier this month
‘That’s why we wear USA’: US players embrace military ties before WBC final against Venezuela
The US will play Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday, a meeting that comes after recent tensions between the two countries.In January, Donald Trump ordered a military operation that captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Since then, the US has launched a war against Iran, during which the American players have paid tribute to their country’s military. Players have saluted each other after victories and the team invited Robert J O’Neill, a former navy Seal who claims he killed Osama bin Laden, to give a locker room speech. Two of the team’s pitchers, Paul Skenes and Griffin Jax, played at the Air Force Academy and have spoken of the importance of honoring the military
The Breakdown | From Ramos to Carré: selecting the best XV of the 2026 Six Nations
The champions France lead with five players but every side is represented in pick from a tournament to savour15. Thomas Ramos FrancePlays like the lovechild of Mike Brown and Thomas Castaignède with Jonny Wilkinson levels of marksmanship thrown in. There was never any doubt he would nail that decisive final winning penalty in Paris, just as he did against England in Lyon two years ago. The 30-year-old is the first player to be the top points-scorer in four successive championships and now tops France’s all-time list.14
‘Everyone in Nashville is a Vandy fan’: how Shea Ralph sparked a women’s basketball revival in Music City
Shea Ralph’s decision to storm the court during the fourth quarter of Vanderbilt’s quarter-final against Ole Miss last Friday at the SEC Tournament wasn’t premeditated. Ralph, who up to that moment had never been thrown out of a game in her lengthy career, just did what she thought was right in arguing a questionable foul call.“I wasn’t trying to get kicked out,” Ralph told reporters after the game. “I know where I was on the court. But I also think that at that time what I said was warranted, and the action I took was warranted
‘I was struggling to feel my hands’: Aston Martin’s problems laid bare by Alonso’s woe in China | Giles Richards
The next round of the Formula One world championship in Japan will be the home race for the Aston Martin team’s engine manufacturer, Honda, at the Suzuka circuit. A celebratory affair, however, is not expected amid painful days for Honda, whose return to F1 has been marked by a failure to make the grade.Its engine’s shortcomings were exposed for the second successive race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. Fernando Alonso retired after 32 laps because the vibration from the engine was so severe he was losing feeling in his hands and feet. Hit teammate Lance Stroll had retired after 10 laps with a battery problem, an element of the hybrid engine that has plagued the manufacturer from day one
‘We kicked Bono’s arse’: how we made Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again (with a little help from Kraftwerk)
Gatz review – the Great Gatsby performed in eight and a half hours of attentive, immersive joy
How to Make a Killing to Wu-Tang Clan: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
The Guide #234: Five big questions before the 2026 Oscars
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump being gifted an Olympic medal: ‘Yet another award he didn’t win’
Seth Meyers on Pete Hegseth: ‘The face of a man war-fighting with his colon’