Baltimore sues Musk’s xAI over Grok’s creation of sexually explicit images

The city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, alleging that its tool, Grok, has continued to generate non-consensual sexual images in violation of the city’s consumer protection and deceptive practice laws.

The complaint claims that users on Musk’s social media platform X are at risk of being exposed to the Grok-generated content “simply by using a mainstream consumer social media platform” and are at risk of having their own photos “transformed into sexually degrading deepfakes without their knowledge or consent.”

Baltimore said those risks did not align with xAI’s marketing, which it said positioned Grok and X as safe platforms and products for users, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.

“Baltimore residents have a reasonable expectation that they will not be exposed to this illegal content on X, and that X will not harass its own customers with Grok-generated deepfakes,” the complaint said.

In its lawsuit, the city said Grok’s “most controversial offerings,” dubbed “spicy mode,” allows users to ask Grok to undress or nudify photos of celebrities and private citizens, including children.

As a result, it places many in “sexually suggestive, degrading, or violent scenarios,” the complaint said.

In an analysis cited in the complaint, the Center for Countering Digital Hate reported that between December 29, 2025, and January 8, 2026, Grok created three million sexualized images, including around 20,000 depicting children.

Baltimore claimed that Grok made “obscene and offensive modifications” to content, including placing a “donut glaze” on a child’s face. In another instance, a female victim alleges Grok “non-consensually undressed her and eventually generated images of her completely naked.”

Grok’s generation of such images has often come as a result of user-requests to Grok. Undressing images using Grok became a trend among users in January.

The city also alleged that Musk himself promoted the tool’s editing capabilities by participating in the trend by posting an edited photo of himself in a bikini.

“Musk’s post functioned as public endorsement of Grok’s ability to generate sexualized or revealing edits of real people, and it signaled to users that these uses of Grok were acceptable, humorous, and encouraged,” the complaint said.

Eventually, X pulled back some of Grok’s ability to create such images directly on the platform, but Grok could still make such images in other parts of the app, and on its standalone website and app.

In a statement, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott said, “These deepfakes, especially those depicting minors, have traumatic, lifelong consequences for victims — who are left with no way to prevent the spread of disturbing, sexualized images created of them without their consent,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott.

Scott added, “Our city will not stand by and allow this to continue; it’s a threat to privacy, dignity, and public safety, and those responsible must be held accountable.”

Baltimore is seeking the “maximum amount of statutory penalties,” however, the filing doesn’t specify the total amount of damages.

The city is also calling on the court to order Musk’s company to “cease the targeting and exploitation of Baltimore’s residents” and requiring it “to reform their exploitative platform design feature restrictions and enhanced marketing restrictions,” according to the filing.

Last week, a group of teenagers in Tennessee sued xAI, claiming that Grok created sexually explicit images of them as minors.

Baltimore appears to be the first city government to file such a lawsuit against xAI.

Since the undressing trend initially sparked controversy in early January, governments and political bodies including the EU, California state and House Democrats have announced various inquiries and investigations into Grok and its undressing abilities.

xAI and X didn’t immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.