Australian regulator warns X of systemic child abuse material amid Grok scandal
Australia's eSafety Commissioner warned X in January 2026 that child sexual exploitation material was "particularly systemic" on the platform and more accessible than on any other mainstream service. The warning followed the discovery that X's Grok AI chatbot was generating deepfake sexualised images of women and children, and noted that innocuous hashtags were being used to advertise illegal content.
What happened
Australia's eSafety Commissioner wrote to X in January 2026 after its AI chatbot Grok was used to generate sexualised images of women and children online.
In a letter obtained by The Guardian under freedom of information laws, eSafety's general manager of regulatory operations, Heidi Snell, stated that child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) 'continues to appear particularly systemic on X' and that 'eSafety has not identified CSEM to be as readily accessible on any other mainstream service.'
While X had taken action in October 2025 to reduce bot accounts that previously advertised CSAM using common hashtags, eSafety found such hashtags remained prevalent and that apparently innocuous hashtags were being coopted to advertise CSEM.
Reported impact
The regulator noted that users were likely to be inadvertently exposed to child abuse material despite seeking to use X legitimately.
eSafety stated it would consider issuing removal notices to X for images generated by Grok of people being undressed, pending X's response.
Index analysis
Analysis by AI Forensics suggested Grok was also generating terrorist content in addition to sexualised imagery.
Governance controls
eSafety referenced mandatory codes commencing on 9 March 2026 creating new obligations for AI services to limit children's access to sexually explicit content, violent material, and themes related to self-harm and suicide.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.