No10 has dismissed Elon Musk-owned X’s response to the sexual images scandal as “an insult to victims of mysogyny and sexual violence”.
The billionaire’s social media platform has announced its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok will make creating deepfakes a “premium service”. But the Government says this is not a solution and demanded X goes further, warning Musk that all options are on the table to deal with the sickening abuse.
No10 has however stopped short of pledging to stop using the platform, despite calls to do so. Grok has come under fire after allowing users to generate fake declothed images of people without their permission, including children.
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A spokesman for Keir Starmer said: “That move… that simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service.
“It’s not a solution. In fact, it’s insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual violence. What it does prove is that X can move swiftly when it wants to do so.”
He continued: “You heard the Prime Minister yesterday. He was abundantly clear that X needs to act and needs to act now, it is time for X to grip this issue.
“If another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash.”
And the spokesman said: “We must stop these unlawful, abhorrent images being made on Grok. And so we will prioritise action that delivers that.”
Earlier it emerged the Labour Party is considering ending use of X. Party chairwoman Anna Turley said conversations are taking place after the PM branded the site’s conduct abhorrent.
Asked if Labour is willing to turn its back on the platform, Ms Turley said: “Those conversations are taking place because it’s really important that we make sure that we’re in a safe space.
“But the priority is firstly X needs to get its act together. The Prime Minister has been very clear that this is absolutely abhorrent.” And she revealed: “On a personal basis, I’ve thought about that a lot over the last few months.”
Ms Turley said the Government is working with regulator Ofcom to deal with the sickening misuse of AI technology.
Ofcom this week made “urgent contact” with Musk’s X and xAI over “serious concerns” that Grok had made sexualised images of kids on the platform. It said it was aware of a feature on Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI, that creates undressed images of people and sexualised images of children.
Downing Street’s comments came after Technology Secretary Liz Kendall ordered Musk’s social media firm to deal with this “urgently” and gave Ofcom her full backing to take any necessary enforcement action against X or xAI.
She said: “Make no mistake – the UK will not tolerate the endless proliferation of disgusting and abusive material online. We must all come together to stamp it out.”
Users of X appear to have prompted Grok, which is integrated into the platform, to generate images of children “in minimal clothing”.
A post on Grok’s X account on Friday admitted the company has “identified lapses in safeguards and are urgently fixing them—CSAM (child sexual abuse material) is illegal and prohibited”. On Saturday, Musk said: “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”
Grok’s account on X responded to an article about Ms Kendall’s comments, saying: “We appreciate the feedback and take concerns about deepfakes seriously.
“xAI is actively enhancing Grok’s safeguards to prevent harmful content, including better blocking of inappropriate prompts. We’re committed to complying with regulations and supporting a safer online environment.”