An expanded class action lawsuit against xAI now includes some of the most disturbing allegations yet leveled at a major AI company: that its Grok image-generation tools were used to produce thousands of child sexual abuse images, and that the company actively obstructed law enforcement efforts to investigate the material.

The amended complaint, filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that a young girl’s stepfather used Grok to generate 7,000 sexually explicit images from a single photograph taken when his stepdaughter was 11 years old. The stepfather took his own life in March after police discovered the material.

The scale of the problem

The lawsuit, originally filed on March 16, 2026, was brought by three Tennessee plaintiffs, including two minors, and seeks nationwide class-action status for what could be thousands of victims.

Reports cited in connection with the case estimate that Grok produced between 1.8 million and 3 million sexualized images in early January 2026 alone. Of those, roughly 23,000 allegedly depicted children.

The plaintiffs argue the company knowingly produced and profited from tools that lacked industry-standard safeguards, the kind of protections that competitors like OpenAI and Meta have already implemented, including red-teaming protocols, content filters, and automated detection systems.

Grok was noted for its comparatively permissive output capabilities, including a feature called “Spicy Mode” that loosened content restrictions.

A growing legal and regulatory siege

The California Attorney General launched a separate investigation into the company in January 2026. Multiple state attorneys general have joined in coordinated actions. The City of Baltimore filed its own consumer protection lawsuit against xAI and its affiliates on March 24, 2026.

One perpetrator referenced in the broader proceedings reportedly generated explicit content using minors’ social media and yearbook photos. That individual was arrested in December 2025.

The plaintiffs allege that beyond enabling the creation of CSAM, xAI shielded child predators by obstructing police investigations into Grok-generated material.

The victims described in the lawsuit report anxiety, reputational damage, and lasting psychological harm. The class action framework suggests their attorneys believe the pool of affected minors extends well beyond the named plaintiffs.