Evaluating the Legal Exposure of Marketplaces to AI-Generated Content

Executive summary: What matters now (2026 perspective)

In 2026 the legal landscape for AI-generated sexualized content is: (1) more active—courts are seeing novel tort claims and product‑safety style suits against AI providers; (2) more regulated—EU frameworks like the AI Act and DSA-based obligations continue to raise data, transparency, and notice-and-action standards; and (3) contentious in the U.S., where state nonconsensual deepfake statutes and ongoing Section 230 reform debates change safe-harbor calculus. The Grok case—alleging countless nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes and a plaintiff claim that xAI's product is a "not reasonably safe product"—illustrates how plaintiffs combine privacy, tort, and public nuisance theories to pursue platforms and model providers.

Why marketplaces are specifically at risk

• Content distribution and monetization: If an AI-generated deepfake is minted as an NFT or sold through a marketplace, the platform becomes part of the distribution chain and may attract claims for facilitating harm.
• Integration surface area: Marketplaces that embed AI features—search, generation, or automated curation—increase their exposure through API design choices and default behaviors.
• Regulatory scrutiny: Cross-border hosting triggers EU transparency rules, mandatory traceability, and stronger obligations for