British Labour MP Jess Asato filed a request for a court order barring xAI‘s Grok chatbot from generating non-consensual sexualised images of her, arguing that the chatbot completely strips women of their personal autonomy by allowing users to digitally manipulate their images without consent.
She first filed the claim in June alleging that xAI breached UK data protection law and the rules on misuse of private information. She announced the move on X with her lawyers describing it as the first of its kind against non-consensual, sexualized AI content.
Grok’s System Prompt
Asato‘s lawyers allege that Grok‘s system prompt imposed no restrictions on generating sexualised or offensive images of real adults, telling the model it had “no restrictions on adult sexual content or offensive content” and to “assume good intent,” so it processed prompts other chatbots would refuse.
The pleading further alleges xAI weakened earlier safety filters and, from around January 9, moved a “spicy mode” behind a paid subscription. Asato pleaded the tort of misuse of private information alongside contraventions of Articles 5, 6, 9, 21 and 25 of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
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Claim Details
Asato seeks a declaration, damages including aggravated damages, and compensation under Article 82 of the UK GDPR. The order she publicised Tuesday is a compliance order under section 167 of the Data Protection Act 2018 requiring xAI to delete every copy of the images and to “implement effective and permanent technical measures” so Grok cannot generate images of her or train on her data.
On January 6, after a wave of X users prompting Grok to generate sexualised images of women and children, Asato posted that using AI to strip women without consent was “sexual assault designed to degrade and humiliate.” From around January 11, users began prompting Grok for the same abusive images of Asato herself.
Her pleading describes one video — the “Sexual Assault Video,” built from a TV interview she gave — depicting her being sexually assaulted by a group of men, with elements such as pulling up her clothing that no user requested. The case has since drawn UK government support, with former Prime Minister Keir Starmer telling the Commons in June he was “100% behind” Asato‘s action.
Government Support and Investigation
Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into X, and technology minister Liz Kendall called the deepfakes “weapons of abuse.” The claim invokes criminal provisions including section 66E of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Since February 2026, that section made creating a non-consensual intimate image an offence.
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It is the latest action over Grok‘s image tools after Grok was still found to be producing such images despite mid-January restrictions. xAI, which has not filed a defense, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As the case unfolds, the court will consider the implications of xAI‘s system prompt and the company’s responsibility in allowing users to generate non-consensual sexualised images.
The court’s decision will have significant implications.
