Content Warning: sexual abuse relating to women and children

The government has introduced a new criminal offence making it illegal to generate sexual images using AI without consent, following weeks of escalating tension with X (formally Twitter). This law directly targets sexualised undressed images produced by Grok, an AI chatbot found on X, owned by Elon Musk. This new law positions the UK government as one of the strictest regulators of AI-generated sexual content.

X has already faced intense scrutiny since its takeover by billionaire Musk. Public sentiment towards X has dropped sharply since the takeover: a YouGov poll in August 2024 showed that over four in 10 of those who use X daily have a negative view of it, and this rises to just over half of those who ever use it. Brands are also increasingly distancing themselves from the platform, with advertisers such as Apple, Disney, Coca-Cola, Lionsgate and the World Bank pulling spending on the platform.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) recently found ‘criminal imagery’ of girls aged between 11-13 on the dark web, in which users claimed to have generated the content using Grok. The IWF’s Ngaire Alexander told the BBC tools like Grok now risked ‘bringing sexual AI imagery of children into the mainstream’. 

In response to this and other deepfake violations, the UK’s online regulator Ofcom has said that it is urgently investigating whether Grok has broken British online safety laws. This marks a major moment for Britain’s Online Safety Act — which has been embroiled in controversy since its implementation given claims that it erodes free speech. Musk has hit back against the British government, saying that they seek ‘any excuse’ for censorship and writing: ‘I am not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero’.

Under mounting political pressure, X initially turned the AI image editing tool into a premium service, framing it as a safety measure. This was met with fierce criticism from the government: with PM Starmer calling the decision ‘horrific’ and adding that ministers are ‘absolutely determined to take action’.

Starmer stated that X had to comply with UK law ‘immediately’ under the Online Safety Act, under which non-compliance can trigger fines up to £18 million, or up to 10% of global annual revenue – which would be hundreds of millions in this case. In fact, the response from the House of Commons has been unusually strong and cross-party, framing the issue as both a criminal matter and a national online-safety priority.

Later the same day, X announced that the AI chatbot will no longer allow users to edit people in revealing clothing in places where it is illegal. The UK government said it was ‘vindication’, whilst Ofcom said it was a ‘welcome development’, but added their investigation ‘remains ongoing’. 

Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, welcomed the move but said she expected Ofcom to ‘fully and robustly’ establish the facts. Campaigners and victims have argued that this change has come too late — many worry that the future of AI holds risks for the safety and dignity of women and children. They continue to call for stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure tech platforms monitor and control the content their tools enable.

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