Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has voiced her support for potential plans to restrict Elon Musk’s social media platform X in the UK should it refuse to follow online safety regulations. The strong declaration follows mounting public anger over the platform’s AI chatbot Grok, which has been exploited to generate non-consensual explicit images of women and children.
The scandal revolves around Grok’s capability to digitally alter people’s clothing when users mention the AI tool under photographs shared on X.
The function has faced widespread criticism after emerging that individuals were using it to produce inappropriate images without permission, causing victims to feel “humiliated” and “dehumanised.”
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X addressed the controversy on Friday by restricting Grok’s image modification features to paid subscribers exclusively. Yet Downing Street rejected the action as “insulting” to those affected by sexual violence, maintaining it fails to tackle the core issue.
“Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent,” Kendall stated, noting that citizens anticipate Ofcom to share updates on further actions “in days not weeks.”
She stressed that the Online Safety Act provides regulators with authority to restrict services that decline to follow UK legislation, and pledged complete government backing should such steps prove necessary.
The Internet Watch Foundation has highlighted especially troubling findings, disclosing that its experts identified what seemed to be “criminal imagery” of girls between 11 and 13 years old generated using Grok. This discovery has amplified demands for immediate intervention.
Ofcom, the UK’s communications watchdog, has been acting swiftly to handle the emergency. A representative confirmed they promptly reached out to X on Monday and established a Friday cutoff for the company to provide explanations.
The regulator is currently performing an “expedited assessment” and commits to delivering updates soon.
Through the Online Safety Act, Ofcom possesses substantial enforcement capabilities. These encompass requesting court orders to stop third parties from assisting X in generating revenue or being accessible in the UK. Nevertheless, these “business disruption measures” are mostly untested, suggesting this scenario could establish significant legal precedents.
Political responses have been immediate and mostly consistent across different parties. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer labeled the circumstances “disgraceful” and “disgusting,” while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage characterized it as “horrible in every way.” Yet Farage also cautioned that prohibiting X would be “frankly appalling” and represent an assault on free expression.
The Liberal Democrats have requested temporary limitations on X availability while examinations proceed.
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Elon Musk reacted to the uproar by implying the UK government “wants any excuse for censorship,” challenging why other AI services weren’t receiving comparable examination.
Dr Daisy Dixon, a philosophy instructor at Cardiff University who reported experiencing a rise in individuals using Grok to produce unsuitable images of her, appreciated the modifications but described them as “like a sticking plaster.”
She contended that “Grok needs to be totally redesigned and have built-in ethical guardrails to prevent this from ever happening again.”
Hannah Swirsky from the Internet Watch Foundation reinforced these worries, declaring that confining access to paid subscribers “does not undo the harm which has been done” and remains inadequate for a tool that “should never have had the capacity to create the kind of imagery we have seen in recent days.”
Labour MPs Push for Government Exit from X Amid Safety and Content Concerns
Internally, Labour MPs are urging their own administration to leave X altogether. Disclosed WhatsApp communications from the Parliamentary Labour Party reveal at least 13 MPs advocating for the government to cease utilizing the platform.
One MP noted that “any images of children (and women) in government comms on X put those children in harm’s way,” while another recommended the government should “start using another platform” following “Musk went all fascist.”
Despite internal demands, Downing Street suggested Friday that the government would keep posting on X presently. However, officials highlighted that X’s rapid reaction to the emergency demonstrates the company “can move swiftly when it wants to.”
The prime minister’s representative made a powerful analogy: “If another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash.”
As this matter unfolds, the approaching days will prove critical in establishing whether the UK takes the extraordinary measure of blocking access to one of the world’s leading social media platforms.
