A British lawmaker has initiated legal proceedings against Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, alleging invasion of privacy over the creation of non-consensual deepfake images. Jess Asato, a Labour Party member of Parliament, announced on Thursday that she is suing the firm, claiming that its Grok chatbot was used to generate fake images of her in a bikini without her permission.
The incident occurred in January, shortly after Asato publicly criticised the proliferation of deepfake pornography online. She stated that an individual utilised Grok to produce the explicit images, which she described as a violation akin to being digitally stripped without consent.
Asato filed her claim at the High Court in London on Wednesday, citing misuse of private information under the Data Protection Act. She is seeking damages and aims to establish a legal precedent holding companies accountable for the design and deployment of their AI systems.
“Nobody would be able to walk up to me in the street and strip me and put me in a bikini, and I don’t see why anybody should be able to do that to me online, because the feeling, while it is not quite the same, is very similar,” Asato said. “It is like somebody has digitally stripped me without my consent.”
She expressed hope that other victims of similar abuses would join her claim, underscoring the need for corporate responsibility in the AI sector.
In response to widespread international condemnation of deepfake pornography, xAI announced in January that it would prohibit Grok users from editing images of real people to remove their clothing. However, Asato argues that this measure does not absolve the company of liability for harm already caused.
“Once the damage is done, the damage is done,” she said. “If you think about any other products, like a car, for example, that might have been manufactured with a fault, it doesn’t matter if, you know, the cars get recalled and the faults are fixed and no more harm is done.”
Under a law passed in the United Kingdom last year, it is now illegal to create or request a non-consensual deepfake image of an adult. Despite this, Asato insists that xAI must be held accountable for the past actions of its technology.
xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The case is expected to draw significant attention as it tests the boundaries of legal liability for AI-generated content.
