Britain will bring into effect a law criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images this week, technology minister Liz Kendall told parliament yesterday after regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X.
Kendall said the law would make it illegal for companies to supply tools designed to create such images. She said steps taken last week by X to limit access to such image creation feature to paid subscribers only did not go far enough.
“They are not harmless images. They’re weapons of abuse, disproportionately aimed at women and girls,” she told parliament.
Kendall also said the government would keep under review its decision to continue using X as a means of communication.
Notably, Britain’s media regulator launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X yesterday over concerns its Grok AI chatbot was creating sexually intimate deepfake images in violation of its duty to protect people in the UK from illegal content.
The Ofcom probe piles additional pressure on the social media platform of the world’s richest man, which is already facing a growing public outcry as well as criminal and regulatory probes around the world, from France to India.
“Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning,” it said in a statement.
Platforms must protect people in Britain from illegal content, the regulator said, adding that it would not “hesitate to investigate where we suspect companies are failing in their duties, especially where there’s a risk of harm to children.”
When asked yesterday about the investigation, X pointed to a previous statement in which it said it takes action against illegal content on the platform, including child sexual abuse material, 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,” it said.
The regulator is under pressure to act after Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called the images ‘disgusting’ and ‘unlawful’. Musk’s X had to ‘get a grip’ on Grok, he said.
Following initial action against porn sites that did not have effective age checks, the Grok case will likely be the first big test of Britain’s online safety law, which was enacted in 2023 but is being implemented in stages by Ofcom.
Asked whether X could be banned, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Yes, of course,” but he noted that the power to do so lay with Ofcom.
Musk wrote on X on Saturday that, in focusing on Grok and X, Britain’s government “just want to suppress free speech”.
Kendall said yesterday it was not a freedom of speech issue.
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