PM calls on X to comply with UK laws ‘immediately’ amid row over Grok deepfakes
The Prime Minister said social media platform
Sir Keir Starmer said he was “delighted” that Elon Musk’s firm had taken action against the “absolutely disgusting” images created by Grok, but vowed “we won’t let this go”.
In his post about
The post was Grok’s first on the site since Jan. 8, when he backed away from using X amid controversy over his production of sexualized images of women and children.
On Wednesday night,
The move follows increasing pressure on X over Grok-produced images, including an Ofcom investigation in the UK and bans in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Sir Keir told broadcasters during his visit to Scotland: “These images, the sexualised images, were disgusting, absolutely disgusting and we have made it clear that we will not tolerate them and we will not back down.
“So I’m happy that action is now being taken. But we’re not going to let this go. We’re going to continue because it’s a value debate.”
“This is about vulnerable people, with a Government siding with these vulnerable people against very wealthy corporations who are weaponizing these images.
“So, I’m really happy we’re getting to where we need to be, but to me, it’s a real statement of intent and values.”
The Prime Minister said of X: “I welcome that X is now taking action to ensure full compliance with UK law – this needs to happen immediately.
“If we need to further strengthen existing laws, we are ready to do so.”
The Labor leader also signaled he was open to an Australian-style social media ban on young people, telling reporters: “We need to better protect children from social media.
“We’re looking at what’s happening in Australia, but all options are on the table, all options are on the table in terms of how we can put more protection in place on social media whether it’s under 16s or not.
“Or something I’m very concerned about, which is under-fives and screen time. And we’re the first government to take action on that, because kids are coming to school at four years old, they’re coming to reception and they’re spending too much screen time.”
Technology Minister Liz Kendall previously said she would not rest “until all social media platforms fulfill their legal duties”, while Downing Street sources said the change was “confirmation” of the Prime Minister’s tough stance on X.
Ofcom also welcomed the new restrictions, but said the investigation launched on Monday would continue as it sought “answers about what went wrong and what was being done to fix it”.
Mr Musk, owner of X, has previously claimed Grok would refuse to produce illegal content and appeared to blame “hostile hacking” for the chatbot producing sexualized images.
The company later said in a statement published on
Geoblocking prevents people in certain countries from accessing a feature, but the change still leaves open the possibility of bypassing the feature with a VPN.
“This adds an extra layer of protection by helping ensure that anyone who tries to misuse their Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable,” the company said.
The restriction will apply to all users, including paid subscribers, while image editing and creation will be limited to premium users.
Andrea Simon, director of the Coalition to End Violence Against Women, said X’s response “shows how a show of force by abuse victims, campaigners and governments can force tech platforms to take action”.
He said social media platforms “cannot be left to regulate themselves” and called on the government to take more proactive measures to protect women and girls online.
He said: “The cost of inaction is too high, with countless women and girls harmed before Grok’s image-making tools are disabled.
“We expect the government to do more to ensure tech platforms cannot profit from online abuse.”
