The richest man in the world made the u-turn after Prime Minister Keir Starmer threatened to ban social media platform X altogether in the UK
Elon Musk appears to have backed down in his war with the UK Government over X-rated images shared on his platform, X.
The richest man in the world has come under fire, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer threatening to ban the social media platform altogether, amid concerns over the ability to edit photos in a sexual manner using AI tool Grok.
Many have been left fuming by strangers asking Grok to strip people’s clothes off in photos, without the person’s consent.
PM Starmer vowed to crack down on the image editing, with UK safety regulators also backing him in their action against the sexualised images.
Musk previously said he would not stop Grok from using the technology, but now appears to have made a U-turn on the policy, stating that his AI chatbot will no longer allow users to edit people in revealing clothing in places where it is illegal, amid safety concerns from UK regulators.
Media watchdog Ofcom also launched an investigation into X earlier this week following mounting concerns over reports Grok was allowing users to manipulate images of women and children to sexualise them.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the company said it had imposed restrictions on “editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis”.
“This adds an extra layer of protection by helping to ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse the Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable,” the company said.
“We now geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal.”
The restriction will apply to all users, including paid subscribers, while image editing and creation will be limited to premium users. On Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer welcomed news that the company was taking action on concerns.
But he added the Government would not “back down”, saying media watchdog Ofcom’s independent investigation into Grok would continue.
Billionaire Musk claimed that his chatbot would refuse to produce illegal content and appeared to blame “adversarial hacking” for the chatbot’s generation of sexualised images.
With Not Safe For Work (NSFW) settings switched on, he said in an X post on Wednesday that the chatbot is “supposed to allow upper body nudity of imaginary adult humans (not real ones) consistent with what can be seen in R-rated movies on Apple TV”.
“That is the de facto standard in America. This will vary in other regions according to the laws on a country-by-country basis,” he wrote on Wednesday night.
Also on Wednesday, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee called on X, along with other social media firms, to answer questions from MPs in Parliament about the threat posed by foreign disinformation targeting the UK online.
Responding to a question from Labour MP Emily Darlington, Sir Keir repeated his condemnation of Grok as “disgusting” and “shameful”, and said Ofcom had ministers’ full backing to act if X did not.
He said: “To update the House, I have been informed this morning that X is acting to ensure full compliance with UK law.
“If so, that is welcome, but we’re not going to back down, and they must act.
“We will take the necessary measures. We will strengthen existing laws and prepare for legislation if it needs to go further, and Ofcom will continue its independent investigation.”
A statement from the Prime Minister later added the Government was “keeping a close watch on the situation”.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall waded in on the debate, saying the watchdog would have ministers’ full support to take action against X, including effectively banning the platform in the UK, if the company did not make changes.