A new criminal offence will come into force this week, making it illegal to generate sexual images using AI without consent.
This move follows reports of “undressed images” being produced by Grok, an AI chatbot developed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk.
These images were circulated on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Government cracks down on Grok sexual abuse with new law
Ofcom has launched an investigation to determine whether X has complied with UK laws.
The regulator has the power to issue fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of a company’s global revenue for non-compliance.
In extreme cases, it can also seek court orders to block access to the platform in the UK.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned that X could lose its right to self-regulate.
He told Labour MPs: “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.”
The Government is also considering whether to continue using X, with Downing Street stating its presence on the platform is “under review.”
The use of Grok to produce sexually explicit content has raised alarms among ministers, some of whom have voiced support for a UK ban if Ofcom decided to block access to the platform.
The AI tool introduced an image generation feature in July last year, but its misuse for creating nude deepfake images has become widespread over the last few weeks.
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Ofcom said: “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.”
In response to the UK Government’s threats, Mr Musk described them as “fascist” and accused officials of trying to curb free speech.
Nudification apps will also be criminalised under the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament.
