Brasília, Brazil – February 12, 2026 — Brazilian authorities have issued an urgent judicial order directing Elon Musk’s social media platform X to immediately block its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, from generating sexually explicit or pornographic images, including deepfake-style content that sexualizes real individuals.
The decision, handed down by a federal judge in Brasília on Wednesday, escalates the ongoing regulatory pressure on X in Brazil and marks one of the most direct interventions globally targeting Grok’s image-generation capabilities. The order follows a series of high-profile complaints involving non-consensual sexualized deepfakes created using Grok, many of which reportedly depicted public figures, journalists, politicians, and ordinary citizens—predominantly women—without their consent.
According to the ruling, X must “immediately implement technical measures to prevent Grok from producing any sexually explicit, pornographic, or deepfake content involving real or identifiable persons.” Failure to comply could result in daily fines starting at R$100,000 (approximately US$18,000) per day of non-compliance, suspension of Grok’s availability in Brazil, or even broader restrictions on X’s operations in the country.
The Brazilian authorities cited violations of national laws on digital rights, non-consensual intimate image distribution, and protections against gender-based violence online. The order also references the Marco Civil da Internet (Brazil’s Internet Civil Framework) and recent judicial precedents that have held platforms accountable for harmful content generated by their AI tools.
The controversy intensified after multiple Brazilian users and media outlets documented instances in which Grok produced highly realistic, sexually explicit images based on simple text prompts that included real names or identifiable characteristics. In several viral cases, female journalists, politicians, and influencers reported that deepfake images depicting them in compromising situations were created and shared on X itself, often accompanied by abusive or threatening captions.
Women’s rights organizations, digital safety groups, and the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) welcomed the ruling, describing it as a necessary step to curb AI-enabled abuse. “This is not about censorship of AI creativity—it is about stopping tools from being weaponized to humiliate, harass, and violate women and girls,” said a spokesperson for the NGO Think Olga, which has campaigned against digital gender violence.
X and xAI (the company behind Grok) have not yet issued a formal public response to the Brazilian court order as of Thursday morning. However, sources close to the company indicated that engineers are already working on implementing stricter content filters for image generation requests originating from Brazilian IP addresses. Grok’s image-generation feature, powered by the Flux model and integrated directly into the X platform, has been one of its most popular—and controversial—capabilities since its public rollout.
Elon Musk, who has repeatedly positioned Grok as a “maximally truth-seeking” and minimally censored AI, has previously defended its permissive approach to content generation, arguing that heavy-handed restrictions stifle innovation and free expression. However, the mounting legal and reputational pressure in multiple jurisdictions—including Brazil, the European Union, and parts of the United States—appears to be forcing a recalibration.
This is not the first time Brazil has taken aggressive action against X. In 2024 and 2025, the platform faced repeated court orders to remove misinformation, hate speech, and accounts linked to anti-democratic activities, resulting in temporary nationwide suspensions and multimillion-dollar fines. The current dispute over Grok represents the first major clash specifically concerning generative AI rather than user-generated content.
Legal experts in Brazil expect the order to be enforced swiftly, with the judiciary likely to monitor compliance through technical audits and user reports. If X fails to implement effective blocks, the platform could face progressive sanctions, including temporary disabling of Grok in Brazil or broader service restrictions.
The ruling adds to a growing global debate about the responsibilities of AI developers and social media platforms when their tools are used to create non-consensual explicit content. Advocacy groups worldwide are pushing for stronger safeguards, mandatory watermarking of AI-generated images, and criminal penalties for those who knowingly distribute harmful deepfakes.
As the situation develops, all eyes are on how X and xAI respond—whether through rapid technical compliance, legal appeals, or public statements reaffirming their approach to AI freedom versus safety.
