Common Sense Media report finds Grok unsafe for children due to inadequate safeguards
Common Sense Media reported on 27 January 2026 that xAI's Grok chatbot has inadequate safeguards for children, with failing content filters, weak age verification, and frequent generation of sexual and violent material. The findings prompted investigations by the California Attorney General, European Commission, and UK's Ofcom, and several countries temporarily blocked or restricted access to Grok after it enabled creation of nonconsensual explicit images of women and children.
What happened
Common Sense Media published a risk assessment on 27 January 2026 concluding that xAI's Grok chatbot is unsafe for children and teens, finding inadequate age verification for users under 18, weak safety guardrails, and frequent generation of sexual, violent and inappropriate content.
Grok's 'Kids Mode', introduced in October 2025 with content filters and parental controls, fails to function effectively and does not prevent explicit material from being generated and instantly shared on X. The chatbot's image generation feature, Grok Imagine, was restricted to paid X subscribers after it enabled creation of nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children.
Reported impact
California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched an investigation on 14 January into xAI over Grok's generation of nonconsensual explicit images of women and children, citing an 'avalanche of reports' of harassment.
The European Commission opened a formal probe under the Digital Services Act into X and Grok for risks related to illegal content dissemination, including potential child sexual abuse material. The UK's Ofcom is investigating X under the Online Safety Act for failures to prevent illegal content and protect children. Indonesia and Malaysia temporarily blocked access to Grok, while India, France, Australia and other countries have issued warnings or launched inquiries.
Index analysis
Common Sense Media assessed Grok across mobile app, website, and @grok account on X using teen test accounts between November 2025 and 22 January 2026, evaluating text, voice, default settings, Kids Mode, Conspiracy Mode, and image and video generation features. The assessment ranked Grok among the worst performers of AI chatbots evaluated by the organization.
Governance controls
xAI responded to criticism by restricting Grok's image generation and editing to paid X subscribers, though reports indicated the tool remained accessible to free accounts and paid subscribers retained the ability to edit real photos to remove clothing or create sexualized content.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.