UK ministers have condemned the misuse of the instrument, which has been used to generate and edit sexualised photos of actual folks with out their consent.
Elon Musk has beforehand insisted ‘anybody utilizing Grok to make unlawful content material will endure the identical penalties as in the event that they uploaded unlawful content material’ (PA)
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And Ofcom has now launched an investigation to find out whether or not X has didn’t adjust to on-line security legal guidelines.
Quite a few nations have now banned Grok, and there have been requires the UK to dam the platform too.
Right here, we take a look at what Grok is, how it’s being abused, and the way governments world wide are intervening.
Grok is a free AI chatbot developed by xAI, the artificial-intelligence firm owned by Elon Musk.
Launched in November 2023, it’s built-in into X, the place customers can tag Grok instantly in posts or replies below different customers’ posts to ask it for a specific response, or to generate or edit photos utilizing AI.
It has been designed to offer candid responses and inventive outputs, with a popularity for looser content material moderation than rivals – which is the place the present subject lies.
Why is Grok attracting controversy?
Grok has been everywhere in the headlines previously few days, because the chatbot was responding to person requests to create sexually specific photos of actual people with out their consent.
There have been hundreds of requests asking Grok to edit photos of ladies to indicate them in bikinis or little clothes, with some content material showing to contain minors.
Elon Musk, founding father of X, is going through backlash over X’s AI chatbot which has been used to create sexualised deepfakes
AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Will or not it’s banned within the UK?
There may be rising stress to dam Grok within the UK following the widespread misuse.
Know-how secretary Liz Kendall has stated that she would again the transfer, main Musk to accuse the federal government of eager to suppress free speech.
Ms Kendall stated the UK’s On-line Security Act “consists of the facility to dam companies from being accessed within the UK, in the event that they refuse to adjust to UK legislation” and “if Ofcom resolve to make use of these powers they may have our full help”.
Know-how Secretary Liz Kendall is ready to present an announcement within the Commons on Monday (Ben Whitley/PA)
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Ofcom, the net security watchdog, can fantastic or block apps or web sites that repeatedly fail to handle dangerous content material.
Underneath the On-line Security Act, Ofcom may additionally search a court docket order to stop third events from serving to X increase cash or be accessed within the UK, ought to they refuse to conform.
Quite a few different UK ministers have additionally been fast to sentence Grok, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling the sexualised photos “disgraceful” and “disgusting”.
Business secretary Peter Kyle stated the federal government would totally help any motion taken by Ofcom, together with the likelihood that the platform could possibly be blocked within the UK.
Reform UK chief Nigel Farage stated that X “must go additional” than the modifications it had put in place – however added that stated the thought of banning X within the UK can be an assault on free speech.
In an announcement this morning, Ofcom stated there had been “deeply regarding stories” of the AI chatbot getting used to create and share undressed photos of individuals, in addition to “sexualised photos of youngsters”.
Over the weekend, a Trump administration official likened the potential UK motion towards X to censorship in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The place has it been banned and why?
Malaysia and Indonesia have already blocked entry to Grok as a result of their capability to supply pornographic and non-consensual photos involving ladies and kids, introduced the bans over the weekend.
Indonesia’s communications and digital affairs minister Meutya Hafid stated that utilizing Grok to supply sexually specific content material is a violation of human rights, dignity and on-line security.
Authorities within the nation have banned various sources of pornographic materials lately, akin to OnlyFans and Pornhub.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Fee cited comparable considerations, including that xAI’s safeguards had been insufficient.
Turkey restricted using Grok in mid-2025, after it generated output deemed insulting to President Erdogan, violating native legal guidelines.
