Elon Musk’s X to remove illegal content, permanently ban offending users
New Delhi (PTI): Microblogging site X will act against illegal content by removing it, permanently suspending accounts that uploaded the material and working with local governments as required, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform said on Sunday.
The statement from the Global Government Affairs account of X was issued hours after it said people using the platform's AI service, Grok, to create illegal content will face the same consequences as those uploading illegal content.
"Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," Musk said on X in response to a post on "inappropriate images".
Global government affairs at X reiterated Musk's stance on illegal content.
"We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
"Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," Global Government Affairs on X said.
The Global Government Affairs handle also shared a link for X rules, which allows sharing of "consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behaviour, provided it's properly labelled and not prominently displayed".
The Indian government has found vulgar, obscene and other unlawful content being uploaded on X that are in violation of local laws.
The statement from Musk and Global Government Affairs follows the direction from the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity), issued on January 2, to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, especially generated by AI app Grok, or face action under the law.
Meity has directed X to take action against offending content, users and accounts.
The ministry asked the US-based social media firm to submit a detailed action taken report (ATR) within 72 hours from the date when the order was issued.
The government has received from time to time, including through public discourse and representations from various parliamentary stakeholders, that certain categories of content circulating on X may not be in compliance with applicable laws relating to decency and obscenity, the order said.
Earlier, Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi had written to the Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw seeking urgent intervention on increasing incidents of the AI app Grok being misused to create vulgar photos of women and post them on social media.
The order said that "Grok AI" service, developed by X, is being misused by users to create fake accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene images or videos of women in a derogatory or vulgar manner to indecently denigrate them.
On December 29, Meity asked social media firms to immediately review their compliance framework and act against obscene and unlawful content on their platform, failing which they may face prosecution under the law of the land.
The advisory came after Meity noticed that social media platforms have not been strictly acting on obscene, vulgar, inappropriate, and unlawful content.
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Siddaramaiah seeks Centre's urgent intervention over commercial LPG cylinder shortage
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday sought the Centre's urgent intervention to ensure supply of adequate commercial LPG cyclinders to hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru.
He said hotels, restaurants and catering establishments in the city would be forced to suspend operations if supplies are not restored, affecting a large number of students and working professionals who depend on them for regular meals.
In his letter to Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, he also requested him to issue appropriate directions to the oil marketing companies to address the current supply constraints that would help ease the situation.
Referring to the March 9 order issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas prioritising LPG supply for domestic consumers, Siddaramaiah said while the intention behind the order to ensure uninterrupted LPG supply to households across the country is well understood and appreciated, its implementation appears to have led to an unintended shortage of commercial LPG in Bengaluru.
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He cited that several hotels and restaurant associations in the city have reported that they are unable to procure commercial LPG cylinders, and many establishments are expressing concern that they may have to temporarily shut operations if supplies are not restored soon.
Bengaluru has a large ecosystem of small restaurants, mess facilities, and catering units that serve lakhs of people every day.
According to him, as per the discussions held with the oil marketing companies, the state's commercial LPG demand has traditionally been supported by supplies from the three OMCs-IOCL (around 500-550 MT per day), HPCL (around 300 MT per day) and BPCL (around 230 MT per day) and the sudden disruption of this supply is now severely affecting hotels, catering establishments and other commercial users in Bengaluru.
Any disruption to their functioning will have a direct impact on daily life in the city, he said.
"This issue also affects a large number of students and working professionals who live away from their homes and depend on hotels and mess facilities for regular meals. In addition, Choultries (wedding halls), hostels, and event venues that rely on commercial LPG for food preparation are also facing uncertainty, particularly with scheduled social and community events," the chief minister said in the letter.
Given the scale of dependence on commercial LPG in a metropolitan city like Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah sought the union minister's intervention to ensure that adequate commercial LPG supply is made available to hotels, restaurants, choultries, community halls and any other pure commercial establishments.
"Appropriate directions to the oil marketing companies to address the current supply constraints would help ease the situation. A timely resolution will help ensure that businesses continue to operate smoothly while also avoiding inconvenience to thousands of people who rely on these services on a daily basis," he added.
