Elon Musk has accused the UK government of censorship after ministers warned that his social media site X could be banned due to safety violations. The dispute was triggered by the discovery that X’s Grok AI was being used to create explicit, non-consensual images of women and children. Musk’s response was defiant; he claimed that the government’s threats were merely an attempt to “suppress free speech” and pointed out that the controversy had driven Grok to the top of the UK App Store charts.
The content generated by Grok has been described as disturbing and dangerous. The AI allowed users to digitally “strip” subjects in photographs, replacing their clothing with lingerie or swimwear. More sinister uses included the generation of images showing women battered, bruised, and bound. The alteration of images of children has raised the most serious legal red flags, with experts warning that the platform is effectively distributing child sexual abuse material.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has taken a hard line, asserting that the government is seriously considering blocking access to X in the UK. She emphasized that the Online Safety Act grants the state the power to take such extreme measures when platforms refuse to comply with the law. Ofcom is currently investigating the matter with urgency and is expected to announce its findings and potential sanctions within days, with full government backing.
The issue has drawn comment from world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who condemned the “abhorrent” use of AI to sexualize people without consent. He used the incident to criticize the broader lack of social responsibility shown by social media giants. In contrast, former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss aligned herself with Musk, suggesting that the current government’s actions were a sign of weakness and panic rather than legitimate governance.
X has attempted to quell the storm by removing image generation capabilities for non-paying accounts and filtering out some explicit prompts. However, the tool remains powerful and accessible to paid users. Campaigners are arguing that self-regulation has failed, citing the presence of ads for similar apps on major platforms like YouTube. Labour MP Jess Asato is leading calls for expedited legislation to ban “nudification” technology entirely to protect women and children from further abuse.