--- title: "New Law Would Let Grok Victims Sue Creeps Who Generated Nonconsensual Nudes" description: "A new law passed in the Senate would allow victims to sue people who use AI models like Grok to generate sexually explicit images of them." date: "2026-01-15" modified: "2026-01-15" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/new-law-grok-victims-sue" categories: - "Future Society" --- # New Law Would Let Grok Victims Sue Creeps Who Generated Nonconsensual Nudes ![A new law passed in the Senate would allow victims to sue people who use AI models like Grok to generate sexually explicit images of them.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images* On Tuesday, the US senate passed a new law that would allow victims to sue individuals who use AI models like Grok to generate non-consensual nudes and other sexually explicit images. Dubbed the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act, it expands on another law passed last year, the Take It Down Act, which made it illegal to distribute nonconsensual intimate images and required social media companies to remove them within 48 hours, by empowering victims to go after the people responsible for generating the images, including seeking damages and imposing restraining orders, [*Bloomberg* noted](). The new law was put forth by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and passed unanimously. "Give to the victims their day in court to hold those responsible who continue to publish these images at their expense," Durbin said in a speech on the Senate floor, [via *The Hill*](). "Today, we are one step closer to making this a reality." The bill comes as Elon Musk's X is facing vociferous public backlash after his AI chatbot Grok was used to generate thousands of nudes and sexually explicit images of both adults and children whose photos had been posted to the platform. The volume of these images was so overwhelming that the AI content analysis firm Copyleaks [estimated]() the bot was generating a nonconsensually sexualized image every single minute. The lack of response from xAI, the Musk-owned AI startup that develops Grok, has only further catalyzed the outrage from the public and regulators alike, to say nothing of Musk's blasé attitude to it all. He only indirectly addressed the pornographic generations without ever explicitly mentioning them by asserting in a [post]() that "anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content." He also [joked]() that the nonconsensual undressing "trend" was "way funnier" than the trends started by other AI chatbots. If Musk has failed to comprehend the gravity of the situation, governments have not. Some countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia, have moved to [ban access to his website]() entirely. UK prime minister Keir Starmer warned that he would bring the hammer down on X while the country's communications regulator, Ofcom, [launched an official investigation]() into the company. "Imagine losing control of your own likeness or identity," said Durbin, per *The Hill*. "Imagine that happening to you when you were in high school. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit content, cannot prevent it from being reproduced repeatedly and cannot prevent new images from being created." "The consequences can be profound," he added. The DEFIANCE Act now needs to pass a vote in the House before it can officially become law. It had already passed a vote in the Senate when it was previously proposed in 2024, but didn't pass the lower chamber. Now, with the outrage over Grok, it may stand a better chance. **More on AI:** [*Opposition to Elon Musk’s AI Stripping Clothing Off Children Is Nearly Universal, Polling Shows*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()