Centre warns Elon Musk-owned X over Grok content, seeks immediate takedown
The Centre warns X over content violations on its Grok service and demands immediate removal of flagged posts. This move highlights regulatory challenges in managing global social media platforms in India
- Jan 02, 2026,
- Updated Jan 02, 2026, 9:18 PM IST
The Union government on January 2 issued a stern notice to X, warning the platform to immediately remove vulgar and unlawful content, particularly material generated by its AI tool Grok, or face legal action.
The notice, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, was sent to X’s Chief Compliance Officer for India, citing failure to meet statutory due diligence obligations under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Directing urgent compliance, the ministry said X is “hereby directed to… remove or disable access, without delay, to all content already generated or disseminated in violation of applicable laws,” adding that this must be done strictly within the timelines prescribed under the IT Rules, 2021, and “without vitiating the evidence in any manner.”
The government has also sought an action taken report, asking the platform to detail immediate steps to prevent the hosting, generation, publication, transmission, sharing or uploading of obscene, nude, indecent and sexually explicit content through the misuse of AI-based services such as Grok.
“It is reiterated that non-compliance with the requirements shall be viewed seriously and may result in strict legal consequences,” the order warned, noting that action could be initiated against the platform, its responsible officers and users who violate the law, “without any further notice.”
X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has not yet issued a public response to the notice.