Bucks County man accused of creating child porn using X’s AI chatbot, Grok
The arrest comes one day after Bucks County expanded a federal lawsuit against social media platforms to include X and Roblox.
Police have arrested a Bucks County man accused of creating child sexual abuse material using Grok, the chatbot linked to the social media platform X.
Harry Tiffany IV, 66, of New Britain Borough, was arraigned Tuesday and faces multiple felonies, including sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said their investigation began last month after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received automated reports from X flagging 37 images Tiffany allegedly uploaded or shared through Grok in April.
The investigation ultimately led to email and IP addresses linked to Tiffany’s home. During a search by authorities Friday, investigators found “multiple computer-generated files depicting minors” on Tiffany’s Grok application, according to the DA’s office.
“Whether a predator is utilizing AI applications to generate illicit material or hiding behind gaming platforms to lure our children, the dangers are immediate,” said Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit focused on “making the internet safer,” estimated Grok created about 3 million sexualized images during an 11-day period between Dec. 29 and Jan. 9, including 23,000 that appear to depict children.
X limited Grok’s ability to create sexualized images of real people in January after photos flooded the social media platform. But those restrictions appear easy to bypass, according to a risk assessment conducted by Common Sense Media.
X did not respond to a request for comment.
X and Roblox added to Buck County’s lawsuit against social media companies
Tiffany’s arrest comes one day after Bucks County expanded a federal lawsuit against tech giants and social media companies accused of harming children to include X, Roblox, Discord, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
The lawsuit, first filed in California in 2023, previously included TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Google’s YouTube, and Snapchat. It aims to halt what the complaint described as deceptive practices by tech companies, especially when they market their platforms as safe for children.
Last week, Alec James Magill, 32, of Upper Southampton, Bucks County, was sentenced to just under two years in prison after using Roblox and Telegram to target young girls and manipulate them into sending explicit material, despite protections put in place by the platforms.
The lawsuit also demands unspecified financial damages for the rising costs of mental health services that Bucks County offers to young people.
According to screenings conducted during the 2021-22 academic year, 34% of the country’s school-aged youth were at risk for moderate-to-severe depression, and 40% percent were at risk for significant anxiety. More than 25% of students reported a history of suicidal thoughts.
“An entire generation has now reached maturity with social media and without the protections they deserved,” Diane Ellis-Marseglia, chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, said in a news conference on Monday. “So now we will look forward to preventing such failures, stepping up to make sure that things change, and to attempt to make reparations to those youth.”
