xAI asks court to ID deepfake victims in Grok lawsuit

Elon Musk's xAI is pushing back against four pseudonymous plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit, filing motions to compel them to use their real names. The plaintiffs allege that xAI's Grok chatbot was used to create sexualized deepfake images of them—including one showing a child—causing severe emotional distress and fear of further harassment. Their lawyer, Sophia Rios, argues that xAI is trying to 'intimidate Plaintiffs into dropping the litigation by compounding the same harms.'

xAI's legal team counters that there is a public interest in knowing who is suing the company, and that since the deepfake images themselves will remain under seal, there is no compelling privacy justification for pseudonyms. The case follows a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate claiming Grok was used to generate around 3 million sexualized images over 11 days, with 23,000 potentially involving children. SpaceX, which now owns xAI, has reportedly set aside over $500 million to deal with legal fallout. Legal experts warn that forcing plaintiffs to sue in their own names deters litigation and undermines justice.