Bonta says California will investigate Grok’s sexually explicit deep fakes

“@grok put her in panties”

By typing just a short prompt, users of social media platform X can quickly generate non-consensual and sexually explicit images of women and children — a troubling trend that has prompted California to launch an investigation into X’s AI tool.

As CalMatters’ Harry Johnson explains, California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday said the state plans to study AI chatbot Grok following reports that a recent update allowed users to create and distribute sexualized photos of women and children. Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company xAI developed Grok.

• Bontain a statement: “The avalanche of reports… in recent weeks has been shocking. This material, which depicts women and children in nude and overtly sexual situations, has been used to harass people online.”

In a Jan. 3 post on X, Musk said that anyone who uses the AI ​​tool to create illegal content,will suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content.” However, in an earlier reply to Reuters addressing reports of sexualized images of children circulating on X, he said that “Legacy Media Lies.”

As of 2019, California has passed about half a dozen laws protecting people from fake pornography. Most recently it issued a law which penalizes people providing “a service that enables the ongoing operation of deepfake pornography” with a fine of up to $250,000.

• MP Rebecca Bauer-KahanSan Ramon Democrat and author of the bill, in a statement to CalMatters: “Their images of real women are being manipulated without consent, and the psychological and reputational harm to them is devastating. Images of minors are being used to create child sexual abuse material, and these websites knowingly facilitate it.”

With the help of Grok — which is also coming soon integrated into Pentagon systems — X now produces more nude or sexual images without consent than any other website online, according to Bloomberg. And while the images may be fake, the damage they cause is real: In 2024, the FBI warned that the use of deep-fake tools to extort young people had led to self-harm and suicide.

Read more here.

From CalMatters political reporter Maya S. Miller:

A three-judge federal court panel rejected the latest attempt by California Republicans and President Donald Trump’s administration to stop voters from using the new congressional maps approved by motion 50stating that their “mole statements” claiming the maps were racially biased did not make that claim true.

The Solution 2-1with a Trump-appointed judge dissenting, comes after the justices heard three days of testimony and reviewed more than 500 pieces of evidence, totaling thousands of pages, along with audio and video recordings.

“Our conclusion probably seems obvious to anyone who followed the news in the summer and fall of 2025,” Obama-appointed Justice Josephine Staten wrote in her scathing rebuke of the GOP challenge.

She noted that opponents of Proposition 50 relied on an entirely different argument against the measure in court than they used on the campaign trail.

• Staytonin the decision: “So the challengers have abandoned the argument they made to voters. Proposition 50 is clearly no longer a partisan power grab. It is now a ‘racial fraud.'”

The Republican Party has said it will seek an injunction from the US Supreme Court.

There are fewer prisoners in California has been found eligible for paroledespite expanding opportunities and incentives for incarcerated people to seek parole over the past 10 years, CalMatters’ Joe Garcia reports.

Before reaching a plateau in 2023, the annual number of parole hearings increased over the years from 5,226 in 2018 to 9,017 in 2022. But the success rate of inmates being found eligible for parole fell from 39% in 2018 to below 25% in 2025.

Parole experts said a variety of factors could play a role. As California’s prison population ages, the mental and physical limitations of these older inmates can negatively impact their ability to appear before the parole board.

More than ever before, parole commissioners also have a wealth of personal information about individual prisoners: visitor logs, personal expenses, medical records and monitored phone calls and text messages can all be considered relevant when considering parole. The extra scrutiny could uncover potential misconduct and lead to commissioners granting fewer paroles.

Read more here.

Bonta, California’s attorney general, spoke with CalMatters to discuss the state’s recent legal clashes with the Trump administration, the federalization of National Guard troops and preparations for the next potential large-scale federal immigration crackdown. Read more by Nigel Duara of CalMatters.