UK Opens Probe into X and Grok

UK regulator Ofcom launched a formal investigation into X over the spread of sexualized images created by its AI tool Grok. The probe should determine if the social media company has complied with laws to protect users from illegal content.

The move was somewhat expected after Ofcom and the UK government hit out at the company last week over the content, which also faced a backlash from the European Commission and led to a ban on Grok in Indonesia and Malaysia. Ofcom stated it received “deeply concerning” reports that the Grok AI chatbot is being used to create and share undressed images of people, which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography, in addition to sexualized images of children, which could amount to child sexual abuse material.

The regulator revealed it first made contact with X on 5 January and set a deadline of 9 January for it to explain what steps it had taken to comply with its duties under the country’s Online Safety Act, which deems it unlawful to create or share intimate or sexually explicit images of people without consent. X moved to restrict access to the content to paid users, a move the UK government described as insulting. Musk then hit back, accusing the UK of wanting any excuse for censorship.

As part of the investigation, Ofcom stated it would assess the risk of people seeing content that is illegal in the UK before making any significant changes to the service. It also plans to assess if X is taking appropriate steps to remove illegal content, protect users from a breach of privacy laws, and use age assurance measures to protect children from seeing pornography. If the investigation finds X is in breach of UK law, Ofcom can impose fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue.