Elon Musk has accused critics of his social media platform X of hunting for “any excuse for censorship” following mounting concern over its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, and its ability to generate non-consensual sexualised images.
The comments come as UK media regulator Ofcom confirmed it is carrying out an urgent assessment of X, after reports that the AI tool had been used to create explicit images of women and children without consent. The move has received backing from Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.
Kendall described the sexual manipulation of images involving women and children as “despicable and abhorrent”, adding that she expects an update from Ofcom within “days”.
X AI Restrictions Spark Political Backlash in UK
In response to the controversy, X has restricted its AI image-generation feature so that only paying subscribers can use it. However, the decision has drawn sharp criticism, with Downing Street branding the move “insulting” to victims of sexual violence.
According to the BBC, multiple examples in which the free version of Grok appeared to undress women and place them in sexualised scenarios without their consent have been reviewed.
Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, told BBC Newshour that Grok had produced sexualised images of her as a child. The conservative influencer said her image had been “stripped” to appear “basically nude, bent over”, despite her explicitly telling the chatbot that she did not consent.
St Clair, who filed a lawsuit against Musk last year seeking sole custody of their child, accused X of “not taking enough action” to address illegal content, including child sexual abuse imagery. “This could be stopped with a singular message to an engineer,” she said.
Ofcom Powers and Threat of UK Access Block
By Friday morning, Grok was informing users attempting to edit images that “image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers”, adding that users “can subscribe to unlock these features”.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We urgently made contact [with X] on Monday and set a firm deadline of today [Friday] to explain themselves, to which we have received a response.”
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“We’re now undertaking an expedited assessment as a matter of urgency and will provide further updates shortly.”
Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has the authority to seek a court order that could prevent third parties from assisting X in raising funds or even restrict access to the platform in the UK if it fails to comply.
Kendall has said the regulator will have the government’s full support should it decide to block X in the UK.
Leaders Condemn Grok Image Abuse as Debate Widens
The use of Grok to generate non-consensual sexualised images has been condemned across the political spectrum.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the situation as “disgraceful” and “disgusting”. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was “horrible in every way” and argued that X “needs to go further” than the changes announced on Friday, while warning that an outright ban would amount to an attack on free speech.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have called for temporary restrictions on access to X in the UK while the platform remains under investigation.
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