Musk says outcry over X’s Grok service is ‘excuse for censorship’


An Ofcom spokesperson said on Friday: “We urgently made contact [with X] on Monday and set a firm deadline of today to explain themselves, to which we have received a response.

“We’re now undertaking an expedited assessment as a matter of urgency and will provide further updates shortly.”

Ofcom’s powers under the Online Safety Act include being able to seek a court order to prevent third parties from helping X raise money or be accessed in the UK – should the firm refuse to comply.

But Dame Chi Onwurah, chairwoman of the innovation and technology committee, said she was “concerned and confused” about how the matter is “actually being addressed”, and has written to Ofcom and Kendall for clarification.

Dame Chi said it was “unclear” under the Online Safety Act whether the creation of such images using AI was illegal, as was the responsibility of social media sites for what was shared on their platforms.

“The act should really make something so harmful to so many people clearly illegal, and X’s responsibility should be clear,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the culture, media and sport committee, likewise said she had a “real fear that there is a gap in the regulation”.

“There are doubts as to whether the Online Safety Act actually has the power to regulate functionality – that means generative AI’s ability to nudify someone’s image,” she told BBC Breakfast.

The use of Grok to generate non-consensual sexualised images has been condemned by politicians on all sides:

  • Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was “horrible in every way” and that X “needs to go further” than the changes it had made to Grok on Friday, but he added that banning the platform would be an attack on free speech

Elsewhere, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he agreed with Starmer that the material was “completely abhorrent”.

“It, once again, is an example of social media not showing social responsibility,” Albanese said, adding that Australia’s digital safety commissioner was looking at the situation.

“Australians and indeed, global citizens deserve better.”

Meanwhile, Grok was temporarily suspended in Indonesia on Saturday. The country’s digital minister said “non-consensual sexual deepfakes [were] a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the security of citizens in the digital space”.


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