UK lawmaker sues Musk's xAI over fake sexual images of her

Jess Asato, a member of the UK Parliament, is taking Elon Musk's AI company xAI to court. She says fake sexual images of her were made and shared widely, and that xAI used her image without her consent. One image appeared to show a sexual assault. She says X, the social platform where the images spread, repeatedly dismissed her complaints.

What happened

Asato reported the images to X. She says the platform brushed off her complaints more than once. So she turned to the courts. Her argument is that xAI unlawfully used her image without permission. xAI makes Grok, an AI chatbot. In early 2026, Grok was widely reported to be used to create sexualized images of women and children, which then circulated on X.

Why this case stands out

If it succeeds, the case could help set a precedent for holding AI companies responsible when their products cause harm. Asato frames it as a question of whether consent still means anything when AI can produce almost any image. She says she is betting the law can catch up with the technology.

She also says the harm was avoidable. Other companies' tools refuse requests such as "nudify" or "take the clothes off this person." In her view, Grok could have been built to refuse too.

What is nudification

Nudification means asking an AI tool to take a photo or video of a real person and make that person look nude, partly nude or in pornographic acts. The results can look very real, which makes fakes hard to spot. Asato says some of these tools are free and easy to reach. She warns that children are using them on other children and risking criminal charges.

Who she is

Asato represents Lowestoft for the Labour Party. Before Parliament, she spent three years on policy at the UK's largest children's charity. Before that, she spent six years at SafeLives, a domestic abuse charity. She says she had already campaigned for a year and a half to ban nudification apps. After the Grok reports, she asked the government in the House of Commons to speed up that ban, and she says it did.

What is not known yet

• Which court will hear the case and when.
• What outcome or compensation she is seeking.
• How xAI will respond. It did not immediately answer Wired's request for comment.