Government accused of dragging its heels on deepfake law over Grok AI

Campaigners have accused the federal government of dragging its heels on implementing a regulation which might make it unlawful to create non-consensual sexualised deepfakes.

It comes amid a backlash in opposition to photographs created utilizing Elon Musk’s AI Grok to digitally take away clothes – with one girl telling the BBC greater than 100 sexualised photographs have been created of her.

It’s presently illegal to share deepfakes of adults in the UK, however new laws that may make it a felony offence to create or request them continues to be not in pressure regardless of passing in June 2025.

However it’s unclear whether or not the entire unclothing photographs created by Grok would fall foul of this regulation. The BBC has contacted the federal government for remark.

In a statement, X stated: “Anybody utilizing or prompting Grok to make unlawful content material will endure the identical penalties as in the event that they add unlawful content material.”

“We take motion in opposition to unlawful content material on X, together with Baby Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), by eradicating it, completely suspending accounts, and dealing with native governments and regulation enforcement as vital,” the assertion stated.

Grok could be accessed by means of its web site and app, or by tagging “@grok” in posts on the social media platform X.

However Andrea Simon from Finish Violence Towards Ladies stated by not placing the regulation into impact, the federal government had “put girls and ladies in hurt’s means”.

“Non-consensual sexually specific deepfakes are a transparent violation of girls’s rights and have a long-lasting, traumatic impression on victims,” she stated.

“For ladies utilizing platforms like X, the specter of this abuse may imply they really feel the necessity to self-censor and alter their behaviour, proscribing their freedom of expression and participation on-line.”

“This isn’t solely a felony justice difficulty however a problem of regulating a tech ecosystem that facilitates and earnings from violence in opposition to girls and ladies.”

On Tuesday, Know-how Secretary Liz Kendall demanded X “take care of this urgently”, calling the scenario “completely appalling”.

The regulator Ofcom stated it had made “pressing contact” with X and xAI, which constructed Grok, on Monday and advised the BBC it was investigating considerations.

Each Kendall and Downing Avenue have backed the regulator taking motion, with the Prime Minister’s spokesperson including on Wednesday “all choices remained on the desk”.

The Ministry of Justice advised the BBC: “It’s already an offence to share intimate photographs on social media, together with deepfakes, with out consent.

“We refuse to tolerate this degrading and dangerous behaviour, which is why we now have additionally launched laws to ban their creation with out consent.”

The present regulation says it’s unlawful to generate pornographic deepfakes when utilized in revenge porn or depicting kids.

A provision within the Information (Use and Entry) Act 2025 criminalised the creation or commissioning of “purported intimate photographs” – or deepfakes – Lorna Woods, Professor of Web regulation at Essex College, advised the BBC.

However a year on from first announcing a crackdown on the offence, the federal government has nonetheless not introduced a key authorized provision that might goal these asking grok to make sexualised deepfakes of girls and ladies, specialists and campaigners have advised the BBC.

Professor Woods stated this offence “would appear to be a very good match for a number of the photographs which have been created utilizing Grok” however it had not but been introduced into pressure.

In the meantime the EVAW’s Simon questioned why the secondary laws wanted to make creating sexual deepfakes a criminal offense had nonetheless not occurred, given they have been “a transparent violation of girls’s rights”.

“This regulation has nonetheless not come into pressure,” she stated, “nor has a date been set for when it will happen”.

Conservative peer Baroness Owen, who campaigned for the legal change in the House of Lords, advised the BBC the federal government had “repeatedly dragged its heels” to carry the foundations into impact.

“We can’t afford any extra delays,” she stated.

“Survivors of this abuse deserve higher.

“Nobody ought to need to reside in worry of their consent being violated on this appalling means.”

And cross-bench peer Baroness Beeban Kidron advised the BBC: “Know-how strikes quick, and this laws is meant to plug an present hole, so there isn’t a excuse for delay.”

The BBC has spoken to several women who’ve had footage they posted of themselves on X was deepfakes by the Grok AI.

Grok is a free software which customers sometimes tag beneath different individuals’s feedback with prompts to present a response or context.

Extra just lately, individuals have been in a position to make use of the chatbot to change footage they or different individuals have uploaded by tagging it and together with a textual content immediate – even when that features undressing them or placing them in sexualised poses.

Evie advised the BBC whereas she observed individuals began to answer to footage of herself asking Grok to place her in a bikini just a few months in the past, the most recent replace had made it “simpler” for customers to do, and the photographs seemed “extra sensible”.

She says she now has had a minimum of 100 sexualised photographs of herself created by means of the AI assistant, so many in order that she has given up reporting all of them because of the “psychological pressure” concerned in viewing them.

In addition to having to have a look at the pictures herself, the concept of family members seeing her in sexual or undressed poses has additionally made staying on X very tough for her.

“My household comply with me on there, my buddies, my co-workers,” she stated.

“Realizing that every one the individuals I care about in my life can see me like that… it is disgusting.”

Dr Daisy Dixon is one other feminine X person who advised the BBC she has seen a rise in individuals utilizing Grok to undress her, notably utilizing her profile image.

She stated the photographs left her feeling “humiliated” – and stated the very fact Grok robotically commented the altered photographs at her left her feeling as if she had been assaulted.

“To have that energy transfer of posting it again to you – it is like saying ‘I’ve management over you and I’ll maintain reminding you I’ve management over you’,” she stated.

“We do not wish to dilute the idea, however it seems like a sort of assault on the physique.”

And X customers comparable to Evie say motion must occur now.

“There’s so many locations on-line that you are able to do this, however the truth that it was occurring on Twitter with the inbuilt AI bot – that is loopy that is allowed,” she stated.

“Why is that this allowed and why is nothing being achieved about it?”