The UK media watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the use of the Grok AI tool to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes.
Ofcom has acted after a public and political outcry over a deluge of sexual images appearing on the platform, created by Musk’s Grok, which is integrated with X.
The regulator is investigating X under the Online Safety Act (OSA), which carries a range of possible punishments for breaches, including a UK ban of apps and websites for the most serious abuses.
It said it would pursue the investigation as a “matter of the highest priority”, while Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, said the regulator had the government’s full backing.
Ofcom said: “Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning. Platforms must protect people in the UK from content that’s illegal in the UK, and we won’t hesitate to investigate where we suspect companies are failing in their duties, especially where there’s a risk of harm to children.
“We’ll progress this investigation as a matter of the highest priority, while ensuring we follow due process. As the UK’s independent online safety enforcement agency, it’s important we make sure our investigations are legally robust and fairly decided.”
Speaking to MPs in the Commons, Kendall said: “The content which has circulated on X is vile. It’s not just an affront to decent society, it is illegal.”
She added: “X does not have to wait for the Ofcom investigation to conclude – they can choose to act sooner to ensure this abhorrent and illegal material cannot be shared on their platform.
“If they do not, Ofcom will have the backing of this government to use the full powers which parliament has given them … This includes the power to issue fines of up to 10% of a company’s worldwide qualifying revenue and in the most serious cases, Ofcom can apply for a court order to stop UK users accessing the site.”
Sharing intimate image abuse online is illegal under the OSA, which also requires that pornography is age gated. Companies are also required to have systems in place to prevent child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from appearing and take it down quickly if it is posted on a platform.
Ofcom said it had “urgently” made contact with X about its concerns last Monday. Having considered X’s response about the steps it has taken to comply with the act, Ofcom said it had opened a formal investigation after an “expedited” assessment carried out as a “matter of urgency”.
The watchdog is focusing on whether X has breached the act in the following ways: failing to assess the risk of people seeing illegal content on the platform; not taking appropriate steps to prevent users from viewing illegal content such as intimate image abuse and CSAM; not taking down illegal material quickly; not protecting users from breaches of privacy law; failing to assess the risk X may pose to children; not using effective age checking for pornography.
Grok has been integrated into X, and an update of the AI tool has allowed users to prompt it to alter clothed images of women and children by making them appear in bikinis and sexually suggestive poses.
Ofcom has a range of options in terms of punishments under the act, from demanding certain steps to comply with the act, issuing fines of up to 10% of global revenue and, in extreme cases, effectively blocking an app or website by applying to a court for “business disruption measures” such as requiring internet service providers to block access to a site in the UK. On Friday the government said it would support Ofcom if it decided X should be effectively banned.
Ofcom said it would gather evidence on whether a breach had occurred. If it decides a breach has taken place it will announce this in a provisional decision before making a final ruling. The regulator did not give exact details on how long the investigation would take.
Jess Asato, a Labour MP and campaigner against AI nudification, said the abuse was still happening to her on X as of Monday morning.
She said explicit and degrading images were being created using the Grok app – which is also available separately from X – and other AI apps and posted on X, because she was speaking against Musk’s platform.
“It’s still happening to me and being posted on X because I speak up about it,” she said. “Thankfully it’s just bikinis, no one has properly nudified me yet. Just this morning someone has made me of a tradwife with a massive pregnant tummy. It’s like they’re saying, this is where you should be, this is your role, you should be a baby birthing machine. This has disturbed me weirdly more than the bikini pictures.”
Some MPs have been pushing for the government to leave the platform in protest, but Kendall insisted ministers were not planning to take such action – though she added that it remained an option in future.
“With 19 million people on X in this country, and more than a quarter of them saying that they use it as their primary source of news, our views – and often simply the facts – need to be heard wherever possible,” she said.
