EPIC Joins Coalition to Urge the FTC to Investigate Grok “Spicy” Image Generator

EPIC recently joined 13 other advocacy organizations to send a letter to urge the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Elon Musk’s company xAI for potential violation of Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII) laws. Grok, a generative AI chatbot developed by xAI, released a new “Imagine” tool to generate videos and images. The feature facilitates the creation of NCII via a “Spicy” mode, which appears when NSFW mode is turned on in Grok’s settings. 

The letter notes that while Grok doesn’t offer “Spicy” mode for user-uploaded photos, the tool can still generate nude imagery that looks like specific people, especially harmful for celebrities and underage users. The letter goes on to explain that if the limitation of the “Spicy” mode for user-uploaded photos is ever removed, it “would unleash a torrent of nonconsensual deepfakes and notes that the platform and its chief executive have a penchant for removing moderation safeguards under the guise of free speech.’” 

The coalition also expressed concern about how easily minors can lie to access this feature—their only barrier to using “Spicy” mode is a pop-up asking whether they are over 18 years old. One of the pop-ups even has a preset selection of “2000” for user birth year, which could violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or state-specific age verification laws. 

EPIC has long supported child safety regulations and AI safety and accountability measures. Read the full letter here.