Social media platform X, on Sunday, officially acknowledged significant lapses in its content moderation standards and admitted to “mistakes” in its initial response to the Indian government.
This admission follows a stern notice from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on 2 January regarding the circulation of non-consensual, obscene imagery generated or amplified by X’s AI chatbot, Grok.
Government sources confirmed that the platform has already blocked approximately 3,500 pieces of content and deleted over 600 accounts as a direct result of the directive. X has now assured Indian authorities of full compliance with the country’s IT laws and committed to a strict ban on obscene imagery moving forward.
Digital Safety & AI Guardrails
The friction between the Centre and X escalated when MeitY flagged serious failures in statutory due diligence regarding Grok. The ministry highlighted that the AI tool was being misused to create “synthetic outputs” that targeted the dignity of women and children.
While X’s first reply on 7 January was lengthy, officials dismissed it as a mere restatement of existing user policies that lacked technical specifics on preventing future misuse.
Under Indian law, platforms that fail to perform due diligence risk losing their “safe harbour” protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, which would strip the company of legal immunity for user-generated content and expose it to criminal action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Political Backlash
The controversy has also seen strong political reactions, with Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi criticising X for initially restricting the problematic Grok features to paid users instead of removing them altogether. She alleged that this “monetised reprehensible behaviour” and put women at risk.
A senior government official reiterated the state’s firm stance, stating, “The law of the land must prevail. Grok cannot be treated as a neutral tool; it is an artificial content creator, and the same standards that apply to human creators must apply to it.”
Beyond account deletions, the government has now directed X to undertake a comprehensive technical and procedural review of Grok’s safety filters.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
At The Logical Indian, we believe that digital accountability is non-negotiable in an era where AI can be weaponised to harm personal dignity and privacy. While we support technological innovation, it must never flourish at the expense of human safety or empathy.
True progress in the digital age is measured by how well we protect the most vulnerable in our society from harassment and exploitation. We hope this admission by X marks a permanent shift toward responsible governance rather than a temporary measure to avoid legal heat.
