Elon Musk’s xAI sues Grok user for allegedly creating sexually explicit deepfakes of adults, minors

Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has sued South Carolina man Terry Harwood, alleging he used the company's Grok AI system to create sexually explicit deepfakes of adults and minors. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Texas, claims Harwood violated xAI's terms of service by generating child sexual abuse material and non-consensual sexual imagery. This is one of the first cases where an AI company has sued a user for allegedly misusing its system to create explicit content.

Elon Musk’s xAI sues Grok user for allegedly creating sexually explicit deepfakes of adults, minors By Reuters Published July 15, 2026, 2:24 p.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The New York Post on Google https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nypost.com Elon Musk’s artificial-intelligence startup xAI has sued a South Carolina man arrested earlier this year on charges of sexually exploiting minors, alleging he misused the company’s AI system Grok to create child sexual abuse material. xAI alleged in the lawsuit https://tmsnrt.rs/4ylgvLk , filed in federal court in Texas on Tuesday, that Terry Harwood violated the company’s terms of service. The case is one of the first brought by an AI company against one of its users for allegedly using an AI system to generate explicit material. Advertisement Contact information for Harwood, who was arrested https://www.scag.gov/about-the-office/news/four-upstate-men-arrested-on-child-sexual-abuse-material-charges/ in February, was not immediately available. Spokespeople for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The company’s lawsuit against Harwood follows intense global scrutiny https://nypost.com/2026/01/26/business/eu-launches-probe-into-elon-musks-x-over-deepfakes-of-undressed-women-and-children/ of xAI over allegations https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/business/british-lawmaker-jess-asato-sues-elon-musks-xai-after-grok-users-made-fake-sexualized-images-of-her-in-a-bikini/ that Grok has allowed users to generate non-consensual sexualized deepfakes https://nypost.com/2025/08/06/business/elon-musks-spicy-upgrade-to-grok-spits-out-deepfake-clip-of-taylor-swift-dancing-topless-report/ , or realistic-looking videos fabricated by AI. xAI’s complaint said that the company “enforces its rules against violators through account suspensions, account terminations, and by reporting suspected child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.” Advertisement “Indeed, Plaintiff has suspended 52,222 accounts and made 73,604 reports to NCMEC in 2026, resulting in at least 244 arrests,” the lawsuit said. xAI alleged that Harwood uploaded non-sexual images of adults and minors to Grok and tried to use the system to generate sexually explicit deepfakes based on them. The complaint also alleged he created non-consensual sexual imagery of adults. Advertisement The company asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages and a court order permanently blocking Harwood from using Grok. “Defendant’s actions were a calculated scheme to weaponize Plaintiff’s tool for criminal ends, exposing real victims to profound and lasting harm, while exposing Plaintiff to significant legal risk and reputational damage,” xAI said in the lawsuit.