Government accused of dragging its heels on deepfake law over Grok AI

Campaigners accused the government of dragging its heels on enforcement of a law that would make it illegal to create non-consensual sexual deepfakes.

This comes amid backlash against images created using Elon Musk’s AI Grok to digitally remove clothes; One woman told the BBC more than 100 sexualized images of herself were created.

Right now Sharing deepfakes of adults is illegal in the UKHowever, new legislation that would make creating or requesting them a criminal offense is still not in force. Takes place in June 2025.

However, it is unclear whether all nude images created by Grok would be against this law. The BBC has contacted the government for comment.

In a statementX said: “Anyone who encourages or uses Grok to make illegal content will be subject to the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed concerns about sexualized images of adults and children produced by Grok, describing it as “disgraceful” and “disgusting”.

Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Trump said: “This cannot be tolerated.”

“X needs to address this matter, we have our full support for Ofcom to take action on this matter.

“This is wrong.”

Grok can be reached through its website and app, or by using the “@grok” tag in posts on the X social media platform.

But Andrea Simon, of End Violence Against Women, said the government was “putting women and girls at risk” by not enforcing the law.

“Non-consensual sexual deepfakes are a clear violation of women’s rights and have a long-lasting, traumatic impact on victims,” he said.

“For women who use platforms like

“This is not just a criminal justice issue, it is also a matter of regulating a technology ecosystem that facilitates and profits from violence against women and girls.”

on tuesdayTechnology Minister Liz Kendall called the situation “absolutely appalling” and demanded that X “deal with this matter urgently”.

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

While both Kendall and Downing Street backed the regulator taking action, the Prime Minister’s spokesman added on Wednesday that “all options remain on the table”.

The Ministry of Justice told the BBC: “Sharing intimate images, including deepfakes, on social media without consent is already a crime.

“We refuse to tolerate this degrading and harmful behavior, which is why we have also introduced legislation banning their creation without permission.”

Current law says it is illegal to create pornographic deepfakes when used as revenge porn or when depicting children.

Lorna Woods, Professor of Internet Law at the University of Essex, told the BBC that a provision in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 criminalises the creation or commissioning of “allegedly private images” (or deepfakes).

However A year after crime crackdown was first announcedExperts and campaigners have told the BBC that the government has still not introduced significant legislation that could target those who ask Grok to make sexualised deepfakes of women.

Professor Woods said this offense “seems appropriate for some images created using Grok” but has not yet come into force.

Meanwhile, EVAW’s Simon questioned why the secondary legislation needed to criminalize the creation of sexual deepfakes has still not happened, given that it is “a clear violation of women’s rights”.

“This law has not yet come into force and no date has been set for when this will happen,” he said.

Conservative peer Baroness Owen, campaigning for legal change in the House of LordsHe told the BBC the government had “drag its heels over and over” to introduce the rules.

“We cannot afford any further delay,” he said.

“Survivors of this abuse deserve better.

“No one should live in fear of having their consent violated in such a horrific way.”

And fellow peer Baroness Beeban Kidron also told the BBC: “Technology moves quickly and this legislation needs to fill an existing gap, so there is no excuse for delay.”

BBC has it. I talked to a few women Those who posted their own photos on X were turned into deepfakes by Grok AI.

Grok is a free tool where users often tag other people’s comments below them with prompts to provide a reaction or context.

Recently, people have been able to use the chatbot to manipulate images uploaded by themselves or others by tagging them and adding a text prompt – even if this involves stripping them down or posing in sexualized poses.

Evie told the BBC that she noticed people started responding to photos of her asking Grok to put her in a bikini a few months ago, but the latest update made it “easier” for users and the photos looked “more realistic”.

She says she has now created at least 100 sexualised images of herself through the AI ​​assistant, so many that she has stopped reporting them all due to the “mental strain” of viewing them.

In addition to having to look at the photos herself, the idea of ​​her loved ones seeing her in sexual or nude poses made it very difficult for her to stay in X.

“My family, my friends, my co-workers all follow me there,” he said.

“To know that all the people I care about in my life can see me like this… it’s disgusting.”

Dr Daisy Dixon is another female X user who told the BBC she has seen an increase in the number of people using Grok to rip her off, particularly using her profile photo.

He said the images made him feel “humiliated” and that Grok’s automatic comments on the altered images made him feel like he was being attacked.

“Having a strong move like sending this back to you is like saying, ‘I have control over you, and I’m going to keep reminding you that I have control over you,'” he said.

“We don’t want to water down the concept, but it feels like some kind of attack on the body.”

Like Evie, X users say action is needed now.

“There are so many places on the internet where you can do this, but for this to happen with Twitter’s built-in AI bot, it’s crazy that this is allowed,” he said.

“Why is this allowed and why is nothing being done about it?”