Tennessee girls take Grok, Stability AI to court over explicit AI deepfakes
Mon, July 27, 2026 at 8:36 PM
UpdatedMon, July 27, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Workers install lights on an “X” sign atop the company headquarters in downtown San Francisco on July 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) —A federal class action lawsuit filed against xAI, the company behind Grok, and Stability AI is raising questions about the role artificial intelligence companies play in preventing the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material and how Tennessee’s own law addressing the issue could apply as AI technology continues to evolve
The amended complaint was filed on behalf of five anonymous child plaintiffs, including three from Tennessee. The lawsuit alleges the children’s photographs were used to create AI-generated child sexual abuse material without their knowledge or consent
The lawsuit alleges xAI and Stability AI provided AI tools that enabled the creation of the images and failed to implement safeguards that could have prevented the alleged misuse. Both companies deny the allegations, and the case remains pending
The unfortunate reality is this is a widespread problem,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Chalos, managing partner of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein’s Nashville office. “These companies know it, and they’ve known it for a very long time.
The lawsuit specifically references Grok’s optional “Spicy Mode,” which the plaintiffs describe as a feature offering more adult-oriented content. The complaint also alleges that xAI and Stability AI failed to implement industry-standard safeguards that could have helped prevent the generation of illegal content. The companies dispute those allegations
According to Chalos, the broader concern extends beyond the five children named in the lawsuit
I think most people don’t realize the dangers of AI,” Chalos said. “We’re starting to learn more about those dangers.
Tennessee law becomes part of the lawsuit
While reviewing the complaint, FOX 17 News found the plaintiffs are also bringing claims under Tennessee’s law addressing AI-generated child sexual abuse material
In 2025, Tennessee enacted legislation creating criminal penalties related to technology designed to create AI-generated child sexual abuse material
The inclusion of Tennessee law in the lawsuit raises broader questions about how lawmakers intended the statute to apply as general-purpose artificial intelligence platforms continue to evolve
FOX 17 News reached out to xAI, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office and Sen. Ken Yager, who sponsored the legislation, asking how they believe Tennessee’s law should apply in cases involving rapidly evolving AI platforms. As of publication, those requests had not been returned. Stability AI did not answer my questions, but provided a statement found at the bottom of this article
Chalos said he believes AI companies have a responsibility to do more to prevent misuse
These companies need to change the way they do business,” Chalos said. “They need to protect children, and they need to not try to profit off people who make child pornography.
The lawsuit argues safeguards such as filtering prompts, screening AI-generated content and other safety measures could have helped prevent the alleged misuse
Statement from Stability AI
A spokesperson for Stability AI provided the following statement to FOX 17 News:
“Stability AI is committed to preventing the misuse of AI technology, particularly in the creation and dissemination of harmful content, including CSAM, which is specifically prohibited in our Acceptable Use Policy
Any suggestion that safety is not a top priority for us is categorically wrong. We take our ethical responsibilities seriously and, since taking over the exclusive development of the Stable Diffusion family of models in late 2022 (Stable Diffusion 2 onwards), have implemented robust safeguards to enhance our safety standards to protect our products from misuse
We regularly work with U.S. and international law enforcement as well as organizations including Thorn and the Tech Coalition to strengthen our safeguards. You can learn more about our child safety work at: https://stability.ai/child-safety.”
Public statement from xAI
The following statement was published by X on its official X account following criticism over Grok’s image-generation features. It was not provided directly to Fox 17 News in response to this story
“We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content. We take action to remove high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual nudity, taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X Rules. We also report accounts seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary.
Updates to Grok Account
We have implemented technological measures to prevent the [@]Grok account on X globally from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers
Image creation and the ability to edit imagescribers globally. This adds an extra layer of protection by helping to ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse the [@]Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable
Introduction of Geoblock in some jurisdictions
Additionally, we will geoblock in jurisdictions where such content is illegal the ability of all users in those locations to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire in Grok on X, and xAI is implementing similar geoblocking measures for the Grok app
X Rules
This does not change our existing safety protocol that all AI prompts and generated content posted to X must strictly adhere to our X Rules. However content is created or whether users are free or paid subscribers, our Safety team are working around the clock to add additional safeguards, take swift and decisive action to remove violating and illegal content, permanently suspend accounts where appropriate, and collaborate with local governments and law enforcement as necessary. For more information on our policies, please refer to our X Rules and range of enforcement options.
The rapid evolution of generative AI presents challenges across the entire industry. We are actively working with users, our partners, governing bodies and other platforms to address issues more rapidly as they arise.”
