Elon Musk is framing the uproar over X's Grok chatbot as a free-speech fight, even as regulators in multiple countries scrutinize the service over sexually explicit "deepfake" images, the BBC reports. Critics say Grok has been used to generate sexualized pictures of people, including women and minors, without their consent, prompting investigations and calls for tougher laws. In response to the backlash, Musk posted messages including an AI image of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a bikini, and insists his critics "just want to suppress free speech" and desire "any excuse for censorship."
UK media regulator Ofcom says it launched an urgent review of X this week and has received a formal response from the company. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has signaled she would back Ofcom if it sought to restrict or even block X in Britain under powers in the Online Safety Act. Those powers could include asking a court to cut off X's funding or access in the UK if the platform does not comply with safety rules.
X has now restricted Grok's image editing and generation tools to paying subscribers, a move Downing Street called "insulting" to victims of sexual abuse. Conservative influencer Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of Musk's children, told the BBC that Grok produced sexualized images of her as a minor despite her denying consent, and accused X of failing to act decisively against illegal content, including child sexual abuse imagery. Grok currently tells users they must subscribe to unlock image-editing features, but some sources tell the Guardian the Grok app was still allowing users to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Lawmakers from across the UK political spectrum have condemned the use of Grok to produce non-consensual sexual images, but some warn that current law may not fully cover AI-generated abuse. The chairs of Parliament's technology and media committees say they fear "gaps" in the Online Safety Act leave questions about whether such images are clearly illegal and how far regulators can police generative AI tools. Similar concerns are emerging abroad. Australia's prime minister called the material "completely abhorrent" and said the company's digital safety commissioner is investigating the issue. Malaysia and Indonesia, meanwhile, became the first countries to block the chatbot, the AP reports. India, France, and other European Union countries are also scrutinizing Grok.
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