Musk claims outcry over Grok deepfakes ‘excuse for censorship’

Elon Musk said his website is under threat of being shut down over images of deepfake pornography and child abuse, claiming X’s critics “want any excuse for censorship”.

The billionaire appeared defiant on Friday night despite reports that X’s AI chatbot Grok was creating sexualized images of people, including children, at the request of users.

Noting claims that other AI programs have created non-sexual images of women in bikinis, he shared on X: “They want every excuse for censorship.”

Criticisms of X have focused on Grok’s production of child abuse images and manipulation of photos of real women and girls to remove their clothing.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said she would support the regulator if Ofcom decides to effectively block X if it does not comply with UK law, saying: “The sexual manipulation of women and children is despicable and disgusting.”

Ofcom said it carried out an “expedited assessment” following X and responded to an urgent contact on Monday.

But Mr Musk responded by sharing a post from US legislator Anna Paulina Luna threatening to impose sanctions on both Sir Keir Starmer and the UK if X was blocked in the country.

On Friday, X appeared to have changed Grok’s settings; The chatbot told users that only paid subscribers could ask it to change images.

However, reports suggested that this only applied to those who made requests in response to other posts, and other ways to edit or create images remained open, including a separate Grok website.

Ms Kendall said it was “absolutely unacceptable for Grok to allow this if you are prepared to pay the price”, adding that an update on Ofcom’s next steps was expected “within days, not weeks”.

Ofcom has the power to fine businesses up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue and take criminal action under the Online Safety Act.

It can also order payment providers, advertisers, and internet service providers to stop working with a site, effectively banning it, but this requires approval from the courts.

Ms Kendall also highlighted plans to ban nudity practices under the Crime and Policing Bill passed by Parliament, and said powers to criminalize the creation of intimate images without consent would come into force in the coming weeks.