UK ministers have condemned the misuse of the device, which has been used to generate and edit sexualised photos of actual folks with out their consent.
Elon Musk has beforehand insisted ‘anybody utilizing Grok to make unlawful content material will undergo the identical penalties as in the event that they uploaded unlawful content material’ (PA)
PA Archive
And Ofcom has now launched an investigation to find out whether or not X has didn’t adjust to on-line security legal guidelines.
A lot of international locations have now banned Grok, and there have been requires the UK to dam the platform too.
Right here, we have a look at what Grok is, how it’s being abused, and the way governments all over the world are intervening.
Grok is a free AI chatbot developed by xAI, the artificial-intelligence firm owned by Elon Musk.
Launched in November 2023, it’s built-in into X, the place customers can tag Grok immediately in posts or replies underneath different customers’ posts to ask it for a specific response, or to generate or edit photos utilizing AI.
It has been designed to supply candid responses and artistic outputs, with a fame for looser content material moderation than rivals – which is the place the present subject lies.
Why is Grok attracting controversy?
Grok has been everywhere in the headlines up to now few days, because the chatbot was responding to person requests to create sexually specific photos of actual people with out their consent.
There have been hundreds of requests asking Grok to edit photos of girls to point out them in bikinis or little clothes, with some content material showing to contain minors.
Elon Musk, founding father of X, is dealing with backlash over X’s AI chatbot which has been used to create sexualised deepfakes
AFP by way of Getty Photos
Will it’s banned within the UK?
There may be rising stress to dam Grok within the UK following the widespread misuse.
Know-how secretary Liz Kendall has stated that she would again the transfer, main Musk to accuse the federal government of eager to suppress free speech.
Ms Kendall stated the UK’s On-line Security Act “consists of the ability to dam companies from being accessed within the UK, in the event that they refuse to adjust to UK regulation” and “if Ofcom determine to make use of these powers they are going to have our full assist”.
Know-how Secretary Liz Kendall is ready to present a press release within the Commons on Monday (Ben Whitley/PA)
PA Wire
Ofcom, the web security watchdog, can nice or block apps or web sites that repeatedly fail to handle dangerous content material.
Underneath the On-line Security Act, Ofcom may additionally search a courtroom order to forestall third events from serving to X elevate cash or be accessed within the UK, ought to they refuse to conform.
A lot of different UK ministers have additionally been fast to sentence Grok, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling the sexualised photos “disgraceful” and “disgusting”.
Business secretary Peter Kyle stated the federal government would totally assist any motion taken by Ofcom, together with the likelihood that the platform might be blocked within the UK.
Reform UK chief Nigel Farage stated that X “must go additional” than the modifications it had put in place – however added that stated the thought of banning X within the UK could be an assault on free speech.
In a press release this morning, Ofcom stated there had been “deeply regarding stories” of the AI chatbot getting used to create and share undressed photos of individuals, in addition to “sexualised photos of kids”.
Over the weekend, a Trump administration official likened the potential UK motion towards X to censorship in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The place has it been banned and why?
Malaysia and Indonesia have already blocked entry to Grok as a consequence of their potential to provide pornographic and non-consensual photos involving girls and youngsters, introduced the bans over the weekend.
Indonesia’s communications and digital affairs minister Meutya Hafid stated that utilizing Grok to provide sexually specific content material is a violation of human rights, dignity and on-line security.
Authorities within the nation have banned plenty of sources of pornographic materials in recent times, equivalent to OnlyFans and Pornhub.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Fee cited related considerations, including that xAI’s safeguards had been insufficient.
Turkey restricted the usage of Grok in mid-2025, after it generated output deemed insulting to President Erdogan, violating native legal guidelines.
