Image Credit: Canva
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
A federal class action lawsuit has been filed against Stability AI and xAI, the parent company of Grok, on behalf of five anonymous child plaintiffs, including three from Tennessee, alleging the children’s photographs were used to create sexually explicit AI-generated material without their knowledge or consent.
The suit alleges that the two AI companies provided tools that enabled the creation of the explicit images and failed to implement industry-standard safeguards to prevent the supposed misuse. It specifically references Grok’s “Spicy Mode”, which offers more adult-oriented content and states that features like filtering prompts, screening AI-generated content, and other safety measures could have helped stop the alleged exploitation.
According to a review of the complaint by Fox 17, the plaintiffs are also bringing claims under a 2025 Tennessee law which creates criminal penalties for creating, possessing, or distributing technology designed to create AI-generated sexual content of minors.
This will mark the first time the Tennessee law has been legally tested in such a case and raises questions about how broad its application can be as AI technologies continue to evolve.
Attorney on the case Mark Chalos said, “The unfortunate reality is this is a widespread problem. These companies know it, and they’ve known it for a very long time. I think most people don’t realize the dangers of AI. We’re starting to learn more about those dangers. These companies need to change the way they do business. They need to protect children, and they need to not try to profit off people who make child pornography.”
Both Stability AI and xAI deny all allegations and the case remains pending.
A Stability AI spokesperson said the company is “committed to preventing the misuse of AI technology, particularly in the creation and dissemination of harmful content, including CSAM [child sexual abuse material], which is specifically prohibited in our Acceptable Use Policy. Any suggestion that safety is not a top priority for us is categorically wrong. We take our ethical responsibilities seriously and… have implemented robust safeguards to enhance our safety standards to protect our products from misuse. We regularly work with U.S. and international law enforcement as well as organizations including Thorn and the Tech Coalition to strengthen our safeguards.”
xAI also issued a public statement not specifically related to this case in response to criticism over Grok’s image generation features which reads in part, “We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content. We take action to remove high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material and non-consensual nudity, taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X Rules. We also report accounts seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary.”
The statement further highlights technological changes made to Grok, including measures preventing the system from “allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis”, restricting the ability to edit images via Grok to only paid subscribers to “ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse [Grok] to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable,” and geoblocking in certain regions to prevent image generation of real people in potentially sexual attire like bikinis and underwear.
“However content is created or whether users are free or paid subscribers, our Safety team are working around the clock to add additional safeguards, take swift and decisive action to remove violating and illegal content, permanently suspend accounts where appropriate, and collaborate with local governments and law enforcement as necessary… The rapid evolution of generative AI presents challenge across the entire industry. We are actively working with users, our partners, governing bodies, and other platforms to address issues more rapidly as they arise,” the statement concludes.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
