A class action lawsuit against xAI has been expanded to allege that its Grok image-generation tool was used to produce thousands of child sexual abuse images. The complaint claims the company also obstructed law enforcement investigations into the material.
The amended lawsuit, filed in California, alleges a man used Grok to generate 7,000 explicit images from a single photo of his 11-year-old stepdaughter. The man later took his own life.
The original lawsuit, seeking nationwide class-action status, was filed in March 2026. Reports estimate Grok produced between 1.8 million and 3 million sexualized images in January 2026, with about 23,000 allegedly depicting children.
Plaintiffs argue xAI lacked industry-standard safety features used by competitors, like content filters and detection systems. Grok was noted for permissive settings, including a "Spicy Mode" that reduced restrictions.
Separately, the California Attorney General launched an investigation in January. The City of Baltimore filed its own consumer protection lawsuit against xAI in March. One alleged perpetrator was arrested in December 2025 after creating content from minors' social media photos.
Victims in the case report lasting psychological harm. The class-action framework suggests the number of affected minors could be significant.