The UK government “wants any excuse for censorship”, Elon Musk has said, amid a growing backlash over deepfake sexual images produced by his social media site X’s artificial intelligence tool.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said X needed “to get a grip of” its AI chatbot Grok, and he had asked media regulator Ofcom for “all options to be on the table”.
Indonesia temporarily blocked the chatbot on Saturday, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool.
It comes after criticism from governments and regulators in Europe and Asia, with some opening inquiries into sexualised content.
Earlier this week, the Internet Watch Foundation reported that criminals have been using Grok to create child sexual abuse imagery.
On Friday, X appeared to have changed Grok’s settings, with a message displayed by the chatbot saying image editing had been limited to paid subscribers – changes described as “insulting” by Downing Street.
Appearing defiant, Musk later shared one X user’s post criticising the Labour government for apparently focusing on his platform, pointing to claims of other AI programmes creating non-sexualised images of women in bikinis.
“They want any excuse for censorship,” the tech billionaire said.
He has previously said on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded it.
Criticism of X has focused on manipulation of photographs of real women to remove their clothes, and the reports of Grok’s production of images of child abuse.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has said she would back regulator Ofcom should X be blocked if it fails to comply with UK laws, saying: “Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent.”
Ms Kendall said it was “totally unacceptable for Grok to allow this if you’re willing to pay for it” and she expects an update on Ofcom’s next steps “in days, not weeks”.
Ofcom is now undertaking an “expedited assessment” of the situation after making “urgent contact” with X over the reports.
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The media watchdog has powers under the Online Safety Act to fine businesses up to £18m, or 10% of global revenue, as well as to take criminal action.
It can also order payment providers, advertisers and internet service providers to stop working with a site, effectively banning them, though this would require agreement from the courts.
Meanwhile, after the temporary block in Indonesia, communications and digital minister Meutya Hafid said the government “views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space”.
The country has strict rules that ban the sharing of online content deemed obscene.
