Key takeaways UK media regulator Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into X for potential violations of the Online Safety Act after the Grok AI chatbot generated sexualized deepfakes. Prime Minist...
The investigation marks a significant escalation in mounting global pressure on X, with multiple countries taking action against the platform over concerns about non-consensual intimate imagery and potential child sexual abuse material generated by the AI tool.
Ofcom announced it had contacted X on January 5 and set a deadline of January 9 for the company to explain what steps it had taken to protect UK users. After reviewing X's response, the regulator decided to open a formal investigation.
"There have been deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images of people, which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography, and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material," Ofcom said in a statement.
An Ofcom spokesperson added, "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.
Platforms must protect people in the UK from content that's illegal in the UK, and we won't hesitate to investigate where we suspect companies are failing in their duties, especially where there's a risk of harm to children."
The investigation will examine whether X properly assessed and mitigated risks of UK users encountering illegal content, and whether the platform acted quickly enough to remove it.
If Ofcom finds violations, it can impose fines of up to 10% of X's global revenue or £18 million, whichever is greater. In the most serious cases, the regulator has the power to seek court orders to block the platform in the UK.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a stark warning to X during a meeting with Parliamentary Labour Party members, stating the platform could lose its ability to self-regulate if it continues to profit from harmful content.
"The actions of Grok and X are absolutely disgusting and shameful. Protecting their abusive users, rather than the women and children who are being abused, shows a total distortion of priorities," Starmer said, according to reports from the meeting.
"If X cannot control Grok, we will – and we'll do it fast because if you profit from harm and abuse, you lose the right to self-regulate."
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Parliament she welcomed Ofcom's investigation and emphasized the need for swift action. "I welcome Ofcom's urgency in launching a formal investigation today. It is vital that Ofcom complete this investigation swiftly because the public - and most importantly the victims - will not accept any delay. The content created and shared using Grok in recent days has been deeply disturbing, and I will be updating Parliament later today on the government's response," Kendall said in a statement.
Kendall also announced that creating non-consensual intimate images would become a criminal offense this week under the Data Use and Access Act passed in 2025.
"The Data (Use and Access) Act passed last year made it a criminal offence to create or request the creation of non-consensual intimate images, and today I can announce to the House that this offence will be brought into force this week," she told the House of Commons.
The Technology Secretary described AI-generated sexualized images as "weapons of abuse" and noted that the Internet Watch Foundation has reported criminal imagery involving children as young as 11.
"This is child sexual abuse. We've seen reports of photos being shared of women in bikinis, tied up and gagged, with bruises, covered in blood, and much, much more," Kendall said.
Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, criticized what she described as regulatory gaps.
"Reports that xAI's Grok has been used to create non-consensual sexualised deepfakes on X are extremely alarming.
My committee warned last year that the Online Safety Act was riddled with gaps, including its failure to explicitly regulate generative AI.
Recent reports about these deepfakes show, in stark terms, how UK citizens have been left exposed to online harms while social media companies operate with apparent impunity," she said in a statement.
The UK government rejected X's decision to restrict Grok's image generation feature to paying subscribers only, calling the move insufficient.
A government spokesperson said, "Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent. It is an insult and totally unacceptable for Grok to still allow this if you're willing to pay for it."
The UK investigation comes amid growing international action against Grok. Indonesia became the first country to block access to the AI tool on Saturday, followed by Malaysia on Sunday.
Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement, "The government sees nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the safety of citizens in the digital space."
Initial findings showed Grok lacked effective safeguards to prevent users from creating pornographic content based on real Indonesian residents.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission stated it would restrict access to Grok following "repeated misuse of the tool to generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors."
The commission added that access would remain restricted until effective safeguards are implemented.
In Europe, the European Commission ordered X to preserve all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026.
European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told journalists, "We are very well aware of the fact that Grok for X is now offering a 'spicy mode' showing explicit sexual content, with some output generated with childlike images.
This is not 'spicy'. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting. This is how we see it, and this has no place in Europe."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on Monday, "We will not be outsourcing child protection and consent to Silicon Valley."
French authorities have also opened an investigation into X regarding the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfakes, including those featuring minors, generated by Grok.
The Paris Prosecutor's Office confirmed the investigation to media outlets.
In the United States, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation called on the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to investigate the matter.
Dani Pinter, chief legal officer and director of the Law Center for NCOSE, told CNBC that federal laws prohibit the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, which can apply to virtually created content "when it depicts an identifiable child, or depicts a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct."
When contacted for comment, xAI responded to media inquiries with what appeared to be an automated message: "Legacy Media Lies." Elon Musk has accused the UK government of being "fascist" and attempting to suppress free speech, posting on X that critics "just want to suppress free speech."
Grok, developed by xAI, launched its advanced image generation feature in July 2025.
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