Ofcom urged to use ‘banning’ powers over X AI deepfakes

The government has urged the regulator Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X over concerns about unlawful AI images created on the site.

Ofcom’s powers include the ability to obtain a court order to prevent third parties from helping the Elon Musk-owned platform from raising money or from being accessed in the UK.

This follows an ongoing backlash against the use of X’s AI Grok to digitally remove clothing from images of people.

The possibility there could be sexualised images of children raised very specific concerns in government.

Addressing concerns over sexualised images of adults and children produced by Grok, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting. And it’s not to be tolerated… Ofcom has our full support to take action in relation to this.”

“It’s unlawful. We’re not going to tolerate it. I’ve asked for all options to be on the table,” he added in an interview with Greatest Hits Radio.

Government sources told BBC News: “We would expect Ofcom to use all powers at its disposal with regards to Grok & X.”

Ofcom’s powers under the Online Safety Act have been rarely used, but include a “very strong” ability to ask the High Court to effectively ban offending companies by preventing their access to technology and to funding through advertisers and other payments.

That process normally requires an investigation, but can be short-circuited where there are serious harms, risks to children, and histories of non-compliance.

A new Ofcom chair is also in the process of being recruited. They will be expected to take a much more robust approach to these matters amid newer concerns about internet safety and national security, arising from new technology and types of ownership.

The Online Safety Act is also at the centre of some concerns from the Trump administration about the impact on US tech firms.

On Monday, Ofcom said it had made “urgent contact” with X and xAI, which built Grok, and told the BBC it was investigating concerns.

It is currently illegal to share deepfakes of adults in the UK.

In an earlier statement, X said: “Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”

With additional reporting from Laura Cress and Chris Vallance