Elon Musk has accused critics of his social media platform X of seeking “any excuse for censorship” after its AI chatbot Grok was used to create sexualised images of people without their knowledge or consent, prompting an urgent regulatory review in the UK.
Ofcom And Government Response
Ofcom said it is carrying out an expedited assessment of X after contacting the company and setting a deadline for an explanation, which it has now received. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said she expects an update within days and that the government would back Ofcom if it decided to block X in the UK. Ofcom’s powers under the Online Safety Act include seeking a court order to stop third parties from helping X raise money or be accessed in the UK if it refuses to comply.
X has since limited image generation and editing to paying subscribers, a move that Downing Street described as “insulting” to victims of sexual violence.
Musk And X Reaction
Musk reposted messages on X criticising the government’s response, including a post showing AI generated images of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a bikini. “They just want to suppress free speech,” Musk wrote.
By Friday morning, Grok told users attempting to alter images uploaded to X that image generation and editing were limited to paying subscribers, adding that users could subscribe to unlock the features.
Whistleblower And Victim Claims
Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of Musk’s children, told BBC Newshour that Grok had generated sexualised images of her as a child. She said the AI produced pictures that appeared “basically nude, bent over” even after she told the system she did not consent. St Clair, who filed a lawsuit in 2025 seeking sole custody of their child, accused X of failing to do enough to tackle illegal material such as child sexual abuse imagery. She said the issue could be resolved with a single instruction to an engineer.
Concerns Over Legal Coverage
Dame Chi Onwurah, chairwoman of Parliament’s innovation and technology committee, said she was concerned and confused about how the matter was being handled and has written to Ofcom and Kendall for clarification. She said it was unclear whether the creation of such images using AI was illegal under the Online Safety Act or how responsibility for content on social platforms was defined.
Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the culture, media and sport committee, said she feared there was a gap in the regulation. She said there were doubts over whether the Online Safety Act has the power to regulate platform functionality, including generative AI tools that can alter or remove clothing from images.
Political And International Reaction
The use of Grok to generate non consensual sexualised images has been condemned across UK politics. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called it “disgraceful” and “disgusting.” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described it as “horrible in every way” and said X needed to go further than its recent changes, while also saying a ban would amount to an attack on free speech. The Liberal Democrats called for temporary restrictions on access to X in the UK during the investigation.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he agreed with Starmer that the content was “completely abhorrent” and said Australia’s digital safety commissioner was examining the issue. In Indonesia, Grok was temporarily suspended on Saturday after the country’s digital minister said non consensual sexual deepfakes were a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space.
Featured image credits: easyranking.ai
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