xAI’s Legal Bid to Unmask Deepfake Victims Could Backfire, Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Argue
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence firm, xAI, is demanding the public identification of four individuals who allegedly had deepfake sexualized images created of them using the company’s Grok chatbot—including one person who was apparently targeted with sexualized deepfake images of them as a child, according to recently filed court documents. On May 29, the four main claimants in a federal class-action lawsuit—currently identified as South Carolina Doe, South Carolina Roe, New Jersey Doe, and Ohio Doe—described in affidavits the emotional distress they suffered after the alleged deepfakes were created earlier this year. The four plaintiffs fear further online harassment and doxing if they are forced to use their real names in the lawsuit against xAI, the documents allege.
Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Accuse xAI of Intimidation Tactics
“Having stripped them of their clothes, xAI now seeks to strip Plaintiffs of their pseudonyms in an obvious effort to intimidate Plaintiffs into dropping the litigation by compounding the same harms that they seek to remedy,” Sophia Rios, a lawyer representing the individuals for the legal firm Berger Montague, wrote in a recent filing. “Asking this Court to reverse itself, xAI suggests that the abuse it has perpetuated is no big deal.” Rios tells WIRED she is unable to comment beyond what is written in the filings. The class-action lawsuit against xAI was initially filed in January with one pseudonymous lead claimant. A judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California approved an order allowing that individual to be a Jane Doe in the case. The case was later refiled with the four main pseudonymous plaintiffs at the start of May, with the Jane Doe becoming South Carolina Doe. Statements in court records say those suing xAI would make their names and personal information known to the company but wanted to use pseudonyms in public to protect their privacy, to not be publicly linked to the images, and to reduce any potential for being further harassed online. Deepfake images of the plaintiffs were not included in any of the public legal filings.
Grok’s Deepfake Generation Sparked Global Outrage and Regulatory Scrutiny
In January, use of the Musk-owned Grok chatbot caused global outrage as scores of men used the generative artificial intelligence system to create fake images of women “undressed” and in bikinis. The images, which were posted on X, also included sexualized images of apparent children. Analysis from the Center for Countering Digital Hate has claimed Grok was used to create around 3 million sexualized images over just 11 days, with 23,000 of those potentially including children. Facing a wave of lawsuits and regulation around the world, SpaceX, which now owns xAI, has set aside more than $500 million to deal with the fallout.
xAI’s Motions Argue for Public Interest and Transparency
In the middle of May, xAI filed two motions with the federal district court in northern California asking for the judge to overturn their ruling allowing the use of pseudonyms in the case. The documents state that under civil court laws, which can have some exceptions, cases must name all of the parties involved. Law360 first reported on xAI’s motions asking the previous decision be overturned. In two motions, xAI’s lawyers claim that real names should be used by those launching the lawsuit as there is a public interest in the identities of those suing the company. They claimed that no evidence has been put forward for any specific further harm or threats to individuals in the case. And they also say that because deepfake images will not be made public as part of the lawsuit, this should assuage any privacy concerns. “Factoring out the deepfake image itself—as it will remain under seal—there is nothing inherently stigmatizing about revealing the fact that a deepfake image was created of South Carolina Doe without revealing the image itself,” the lawyers wrote in one of their May 15 filings. “As a result, this case simply does not involve the types of compelling privacy interests traditionally recognized as requiring pseudonymity.” Neither xAI nor lawyers representing the company responded to WIRED’s requests for comment.
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- Date: June 03, 2026