Ofcom welcomes Grok sexualised image restrictions and says investigation 'ongoing'

Ofcom has welcomed restrictions on Grok, X’s AI chatbot, to prevent the generation of sexualised images.

Sir Keir had made similar comments the previous day. The regulator said its investigation is “ongoing” to “get answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it”.

It came as the prime minister said in a social media post that X must act to comply with UK laws “immediately”.

The company has announced the Grok AI tool on X will no longer be able to undress pictures of real people.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “Free speech is not the freedom to violate consent. Young women’s images are not public property, and their safety is not up for debate.

“I welcome that X is now acting to ensure full compliance with UK law – it must happen immediately.

“If we need to strengthen existing laws further, we are prepared to do that.”

There has been mounting condemnation in the UK and US of the chatbot’s image editing capabilities, with UK government ministers threatening action against the platform.

A days-long outcry over reports Grok was allowing users to manipulate images of children to sexualise them led to Ofcom launching an investigation into X on Monday.

While Ofcom welcomed reports of the new restrictions, it said its investigation would continue as it seeks “answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it”.

What X has said

“We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis,” X said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.

“We now geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal,” it added.

Geoblocking prevents access to a feature for people based in particular countries, but the change still leaves open the possibility that it could be circumvented with a VPN.

The restriction will apply to all users, including paid subscribers, while image editing and creation will be limited to premium users.

Shortly after posting on social media, Sir Keir told broadcasters during a visit to Scotland: “Those images, sexualised images, were disgusting, absolutely disgusting, and we made it clear that we wouldn’t tolerate them and that we wouldn’t back down.

“So I am glad that action has now been taken. But we’re not going to let this go. We will continue because this is a values argument.”

The prime minister had made similar comments the previous day.

Mr Musk had previously claimed Grok would refuse to produce illegal content and appeared to blame “adversarial hacking” for the chatbot’s generation of sexualised images.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir had suggested action by the company may be imminent.

The controversy had seen X, which was bought by Mr Musk in 2022 when it was called Twitter, threatened with a potential fine or even ban – something the UK can now do under new online safety laws.

Mr Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX, who has previously called for Sir Keir to be voted out of office, has claimed – along with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage – that a ban would be an attack on free speech.

X had already announced in an earlier response to the political pressure that image creation and editing would be restricted to paid subscribers.

Following X’s announcement that it would prevent the Grok account from being used to create intimate images of people, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall also welcomed the move.