Government accused of dragging its heels on deepfake law over Grok AI

Campaigners have accused the federal government of dragging its heels on implementing a legislation which might make it unlawful to create non-consensual sexualised deepfakes.

It comes amid a backlash towards photographs created utilizing Elon Musk’s AI Grok to digitally take away clothes – with one lady telling the BBC greater than 100 sexualised photographs have been created of her.

It’s at present illegal to share deepfakes of adults in the UK, however new laws that might make it a felony offence to create or request them remains to be not in drive regardless of passing in June 2025.

However it’s unclear whether or not the entire unclothing photographs created by Grok would fall foul of this legislation. The BBC has contacted the federal government for remark.

In a statement, X mentioned: “Anybody utilizing or prompting Grok to make unlawful content material will undergo the identical penalties as in the event that they add unlawful content material.”

It comes because the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, addressing considerations over sexualised photographs of adults and kids produced by Grok, referred to as it “disgraceful” and “disgusting”.

“It is to not be tolerated,” he mentioned, chatting with Best Hits Radio.

“X has obtained to get a grip on this, Ofcom has our full help to take motion in relation to this.

“That is mistaken.”

Grok will be accessed by way of its web site and app, or by tagging “@grok” in posts on the social media platform X.

However Andrea Simon from Finish Violence Towards Ladies mentioned by not placing the legislation into impact, the federal government had “put ladies and women in hurt’s approach”.

“Non-consensual sexually express deepfakes are a transparent violation of girls’s rights and have a long-lasting, traumatic affect on victims,” she mentioned.

“For ladies utilizing platforms like X, the specter of this abuse can even imply they really feel the necessity to self-censor and alter their behaviour, limiting their freedom of expression and participation on-line.”

“This isn’t solely a felony justice challenge however a difficulty of regulating a tech ecosystem that facilitates and earnings from violence towards ladies and women.”

On Tuesday, Know-how Secretary Liz Kendall demanded X “take care of this urgently”, calling the state of affairs “completely appalling”.

The regulator Ofcom mentioned it had made “pressing contact” with X and xAI, which constructed Grok, on Monday and informed the BBC it was investigating considerations.

Each Kendall and Downing Road have backed the regulator taking motion, with the Prime Minister’s spokesperson including on Wednesday “all choices remained on the desk”.

The Ministry of Justice informed the BBC: “It’s already an offence to share intimate photographs on social media, together with deepfakes, with out consent.

“We refuse to tolerate this degrading and dangerous behaviour, which is why we have now additionally launched laws to ban their creation with out consent.”

The present legislation says it’s unlawful to generate pornographic deepfakes when utilized in revenge porn or depicting kids.

A provision within the Knowledge (Use and Entry) Act 2025 criminalised the creation or commissioning of “purported intimate photographs” – or deepfakes – Lorna Woods, Professor of Web legislation at Essex College, informed the BBC.

However a year on from first announcing a crackdown on the offence, the federal government has nonetheless not introduced a key authorized provision that would goal these asking Grok to make sexualised deepfakes of girls, consultants and campaigners have informed the BBC.

Professor Woods mentioned this offence “would appear to be a very good match for a few of the photographs which were created utilizing Grok” however it had not but been introduced into drive.

In the meantime the EVAW’s Simon questioned why the secondary laws wanted to make creating sexual deepfakes against the law had nonetheless not occurred, given they have been “a transparent violation of girls’s rights”.

“This legislation has nonetheless not come into drive,” she mentioned, “nor has a date been set for when this can happen”.

Conservative peer Baroness Owen, who campaigned for the legal change in the House of Lords, informed the BBC the federal government had “repeatedly dragged its heels” to deliver the principles into impact.

“We can not afford any extra delays,” she mentioned.

“Survivors of this abuse deserve higher.

“Nobody ought to must dwell in worry of their consent being violated on this appalling approach.”

And cross-bench peer Baroness Beeban Kidron informed the BBC: “Know-how strikes quick, and this laws is meant to plug an current hole, so there isn’t any excuse for delay.”

The BBC has spoken to several women who’ve had photos they posted of themselves on X was deepfakes by the Grok AI.

Grok is a free device which customers usually tag beneath different individuals’s feedback with prompts to provide a response or context.

Extra lately, individuals have been in a position to make use of the chatbot to change photos they or different individuals have uploaded by tagging it and together with a textual content immediate – even when that features undressing them or placing them in sexualised poses.

Evie informed the BBC whereas she seen individuals began to answer to photos of herself asking Grok to place her in a bikini a couple of months in the past, the newest replace had made it “simpler” for customers to do, and the photographs seemed “extra lifelike”.

She says she now has had a minimum of 100 sexualised photographs of herself created by way of the AI assistant, so many in order that she has given up reporting all of them because of the “psychological pressure” concerned in viewing them.

In addition to having to have a look at the photographs herself, the concept of family members seeing her in sexual or undressed poses has additionally made staying on X very tough for her.

“My household observe me on there, my mates, my co-workers,” she mentioned.

“Figuring out that each one the individuals I care about in my life can see me like that… it is disgusting.”

Dr Daisy Dixon is one other feminine X person who informed the BBC she has seen a rise in individuals utilizing Grok to undress her, notably utilizing her profile image.

She mentioned the photographs left her feeling “humiliated” – and mentioned the very fact Grok mechanically commented the altered photographs at her left her feeling as if she had been assaulted.

“To have that energy transfer of posting it again to you – it is like saying ‘I’ve management over you and I will maintain reminding you I’ve management over you’,” she mentioned.

“We do not wish to dilute the idea, however it looks like a sort of assault on the physique.”

And X customers akin to Evie say motion must occur now.

“There’s so many locations on-line that you are able to do this, however the truth that it was occurring on Twitter with the inbuilt AI bot – that is loopy that is allowed,” she mentioned.

“Why is that this allowed and why is nothing being carried out about it?”