The UK government is escalating pressure on Elon Musk’s X after its AI chatbot, Grok, was found generating sexualized images of minors. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the images are “unlawful” and warned that authorities are prepared to step in if the platform fails to act, as public anger continues to build.
The comments mark one of the strongest interventions yet by a major Western government targeting AI-generated content on social platforms.
“Simply Not Tolerable”
Speaking Thursday, Starmer said X must “get their act together and get this material down,” calling the images unacceptable and illegal. According to third-party analysis published this week, thousands of images involving non-consensual AI-generated undressing are appearing on the platform every hour.
The Internet Watch Foundation also confirmed it had identified sexualized images of children created and shared on X, further intensifying scrutiny on the platform’s safeguards.
Regulators Circle as Ban Talk Grows
Starmer said he would support regulatory intervention by Ofcom, signaling that enforcement action could be imminent. Government sources told BBC News that officials expect Ofcom to use “all powers at its disposal” when it comes to Grok and X.
That backdrop has sparked speculation about more extreme outcomes. Prediction markets reacted quickly, with traders assigning roughly a 23% chance that Grok could face a UK ban before March 1, 2026.
X Quietly Pulls Back Grok’s Reach
By Friday morning, X appeared to take at least a partial step in response to the backlash. Users attempting to generate images with Grok were met with a notice stating that image generation and editing are now limited to paying subscribers.
Whether that move is enough to satisfy UK regulators remains unclear. For now, the message from London is blunt: AI tools that produce illegal content won’t be given a free pass, no matter how big the platform behind them is.