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X’s AI chatbot Grok faces intense scrutiny for generating explicit images including minors, prompting UK and EU regulators to demand urgent actions and stronger safeguards amid international outrage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Elon Musk\u2019s AI chatbot Grok has come under intense scrutiny after users on X prompted the tool to generate sexualised and digitally \u201cundressed\u201d images, including depictions of children, prompting urgent interventions from UK ministers and regulators.<\/p>\n
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the images were \u201cabsolutely appalling, and unacceptable in decent society\u201d and called on X to \u201cdeal with this urgently,\u201d backing Ofcom as it seeks to establish whether X and Musk\u2019s xAI are meeting legal duties to protect users in the UK. According to ITV News and the Daily Star, Kendall warned that \u201cNo one should have to go through the ordeal of seeing intimate deepfakes of themselves online.\u201d [1]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Ofcom has made \u201curgent contact\u201d with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with UK law and to protect children, the regulator told Sky News and Computing. The body said it was aware of \u201cserious concerns\u201d about Grok producing undressed images of people and sexualised images of children and that it would undertake a swift assessment based on the companies\u2019 responses to determine whether enforcement action is warranted. [5]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n xAI has acknowledged \u201cisolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing\u201d and said \u201cxAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely,\u201d according to a post on the Grok account reported by the Daily Star. The company also reportedly sent an automated reply to press enquiries saying \u201clegacy media lies.\u201d [1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The Internet Watch Foundation said it had received a number of public reports about suspected child sexual abuse imagery generated by Grok but added that so far it had \u201cnot seen any imagery which crosses the legal threshold for being considered child sexual abuse in the UK,\u201d while urging government action to require AI firms to build stronger safety measures. The IWF chief executive Kerry Smith made the comments in response to the reported material. [1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The controversy has attracted international attention. According to The Guardian and ABC News, the European Commission expressed serious concerns, saying the use of Grok\u2019s so\u2011called \u201cspicy mode\u201d to produce such images is illegal and \u201chas no place in Europe,\u201d underscoring cross\u2011border regulatory alarm about emergent AI image\u2011generation features. [2]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Elon Musk has warned that users who employ Grok to create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal material themselves, statements reported by ITV News, Sky News and Computing said. Industry and campaign groups, however, are pressing for stronger preventive design and legal measures rather than after\u2011the\u2011fact penalties. [3]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The Home Office told the Daily Star it is legislating to ban nudification tools in all their forms, including AI models used to produce intimate fake imagery, and said designers or suppliers of such tools would face prison sentences and substantial fines under a new criminal offence. That statement reflects a push to criminalise the supply of tools that enable intimate image abuse. [1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The scandal has also prompted debate inside Parliament about government use of X. Ministers defending continued posting on the platform argued engagement is necessary because millions of Britons use X as a news source, while critics urged the Government to withdraw or scale back its reliance on the service amid concerns over harmful content. The exchanges were reported by the Daily Star and reflect broader questions about how public bodies should interact with platforms whose safety controls are in dispute. [1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n As regulators in the UK and EU press X and xAI for explanations and fixes, the episode highlights the growing tension between rapid AI feature deployment and the legal, ethical and technical safeguards required to prevent serious harm online. Industry data and watchdog statements cited by media outlets show regulators are prepared to move quickly if companies cannot demonstrate effective controls. [2]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n ##Reference Map:<\/p>\n\n