Four people suing xAI over alleged deepfake pornography created with its Grok chatbot are facing a legal maneuver that could force them to choose between their privacy and their case. The company has asked a federal court to reveal their real identities, a move their attorneys say is designed to intimidate them into silence.
The plaintiffs, identified only as South Carolina Doe, South Carolina Roe, New Jersey Doe, and Ohio Doe, filed a class-action lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Their core claim: Grok’s image-generation tool was used to create non-consensual sexualized deepfake images of them, with at least one victim being a minor.
The unmasking motion
xAI filed its motion to unmask the plaintiffs on May 15, arguing that civil procedure generally requires parties to use their real names. The company’s position is that there isn’t sufficient evidence of specific future harm to justify continued anonymity, particularly since the images in question remain under seal.
The plaintiffs submitted affidavits on May 29 describing severe emotional distress and fears of doxxing, online harassment, and the creation of additional deepfakes if their identities become public.
