 "What’s ‘safe harbour’ tag that X risks losing in India over obscene AI images?")
X could be in trouble in India.
The Centre has issued a warning to the Elon Musk-owned platform over the generation and upload of obscene content using its artificial intelligence (AI) bot Grok.
The Indian government has warned that the social media app could lose its “safe harbour status” if it does not comply with takedown directions for such content.
But what happened? What is this safe harbour tag that X is at risk of losing?
What happened?
There have been complaints that people on X have used the AI bot Grok to create and share obscene content of women. The bot’s “Spicy Mode” is allegedly being used to generate indecent photos and videos of people, including celebrities, without their consent.
The Centre has warned X to remove these flagged images and videos and submit an auditable compliance report, as per The Economic Times.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on January 2 sent X a formal notice over the use of its chatbot Grok. The Indian government said it had “grave concern” over the use of Grok to generate such images. It warned that “such conduct reflects a serious failure of platform-level safeguards and enforcement mechanisms, and amounts to gross misuse of artificial intelligence technologies in violation of applicable laws”.
The government said this could violate the dignity, privacy and safety of women and children, “normalising sexual harassment and exploitation in digital spaces, and undermining the statutory due diligence framework applicable to intermediaries operating in India”.
Crucially, officials and legal experts note that the issue is not limited to users misusing the platform. The concern is that Grok is a platform-provided AI tool, meaning X could be seen as enabling or amplifying the creation of harmful content rather than merely hosting third-party material. This distinction weakens claims to legal immunity under India’s intermediary laws.
A government source underscored this position, telling The Economic Times: “Back in 2021, the Centre had informed the Delhi High Court that X (then Twitter) had briefly become legally responsible as a publisher. In any case, the government is not keen on removing safe harbour provisions. But given the explosion of AI-made content that harms our citizens, especially women and children, it is prepared to take a hard step.”
The government said X is not adhering to the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which deal with obscene, indecent, vulgar, pornographic, paedophilic, or otherwise unlawful or harmful content.
It said non-compliance within 72 hours could result in a revocation of the ‘safe harbour’ status for X under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.
What we know about the ‘safe harbour’ tag
Under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, social media sites are granted “safe harbour status”. This means they are classified as neutral hosts and are not held responsible for content created by third parties — as long as they follow Indian government rules and promptly take down illegal and obscene content when directed.
However, safe harbour protection is conditional. Platforms must demonstrate due diligence, act swiftly on government or court orders, and ensure adequate safeguards are in place to prevent the spread of unlawful material. A loss of this status means that X or its representatives in India could be held legally liable for indecent or obscene content on the platform, including potential criminal proceedings.
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently said, “The Parliamentary Committee has recommended a strong law for regulating social media. We are considering it.” “Shouldn’t platforms operating in a context as complex as India adopt a different set of responsibilities? These pressing questions underline the need for a new framework that ensures accountability and safeguards the social fabric of the nation,” Vaishnaw previously said.
An xAI employee has said that engineering teams are working to introduce tighter guardrails. However, critics say these measures may be insufficient unless platforms fundamentally rethink how generative AI tools are deployed and moderated. This is not the first time X has faced such issues in India. In 2021, the platform briefly lost its safe harbour status after failing to fully comply with the IT Rules, 2021.
This followed amendments requiring social media companies with over five million users to appoint key representatives in India. As a significant social media intermediary (SSMI), X is required to meet strict legal and compliance obligations. The Delhi High Court had said the Centre was free to take action if the platform did not follow the law. While X later appointed key India-based officers, its legal immunity remained suspended for nearly three months.
With inputs from agencies
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