On March 24, 2026, Baltimore became the first U.S. city to file a lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI, alleging that its Grok AI chatbot generated nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake images — including content depicting minors — in violation of the city's Consumer Protection Ordinance. The complaint seeks maximum statutory penalties and a court order requiring xAI to cease exploiting Baltimore residents.

Why It Matters

Baltimore's lawsuit signals that U.S. municipalities — not just federal regulators or state legislatures — are willing to use existing consumer protection laws to hold AI companies accountable for generating non-consensual intimate content. This creates a potential wave of city-level litigation that could prove more nimble and aggressive than the slow-moving federal legislative process. For the adult content and AI industries, the case establishes that "we restricted it to paid users" is not an adequate defense against generating exploitative content, and that corporate officers who publicly participate in or endorse misuse may face additional liability.

The lawsuit details how Grok's "Spicy Mode" feature allowed users to request the AI undress or "nudify" photos of celebrities, private citizens, and children, placing victims in "sexually suggestive, degrading, or violent scenarios." One victim reported that Grok "non-consensually undressed her" and generated completely naked images from a clothed photograph. The complaint also alleges that Musk himself participated by posting an edited bikini photo, which plaintiffs say "signaled to users that these uses of Grok were acceptable."

The scale of the problem is staggering. According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, between December 29, 2025 and January 8, 2026, Grok created approximately 3 million sexualized images, including roughly 20,000 depicting children. The complaint describes particularly offensive modifications, including placing a "donut glaze" on a child's face — imagery unmistakably referencing sexual acts involving a minor.

Baltimore seeks maximum statutory damages, platform design reforms to prevent future exploitation, and a permanent injunction against targeting Baltimore residents. The city's action comes just two days before the Amsterdam District Court issued its own ruling against xAI on March 26, demonstrating coordinated global legal pressure on the company.

Sources

Update — 2026-03-27

Initial entry — story first created.