Sexualised images created by Grok ‘weapons of abuse’ – Kendall
Sexualized images created by AI chatbot Grok are “weapons of abuse”, Technology Minister Liz Kendall told MPs Creating intimate images without consent will become a criminal offense from this week.
It comes as media watchdog Ofcom launched an investigation into whether Elon Musk’s social media platform
Ms Kendall labeled the AI-generated images of women “bound and gagged, bruised, covered in blood and much more” as “weapons of abuse”.
Making a statement in the House of Commons, the Technology Secretary said the Internet Watch Foundation had “reported criminal images of children as young as 11, including sexualised girls and toddlers”.
He continued: “This is sexual abuse against children.
“We have seen reports of photos being shared of women in bikinis, bound and gagged, bruised, covered in blood, and much more.
“Lives can and have been ruined because of this content designed to harass, torment and degrade people.
“They are not harmless images.
“These are weapons of harassment that disproportionately target women and girls, and they are illegal.”
Ms Kendall said creating, or requesting to create, intimate images without consent would become a criminal offense this week after legislation on it was passed last year.
He said he would make it a “priority crime” in the Online Safety Bill.
Ms Kendall said: “The Data (Use and Access) Act passed last year made it an offense to create or request the creation of non-consensual intimate images, and I can today announce to the House that this offense will come into force this week.”
He said nudification practices would also be criminalized to target the problem “at the source”.
Developed by another company called xAI, founded by Mr. Musk, Grok launched a new advanced rendering feature in July last year.
But its use to create nude deepfake images has become widespread in the past few weeks, prompting condemnation from the Government and an Ofcom investigation.
In a statement, Ofcom said it would investigate the platform to determine whether it “complies with its duties to protect people in the UK from illegal content”.
This came after the regulator made “urgent contact” with X on January 5, asking it to explain what steps it would take to protect users in the UK and set a “firm deadline” of January 9, which X said it had met.
Ofcom said: “There are deeply worrying reports that the Grok AI chatbot account on
Ms Kendall said Ofcom’s investigation into Grok should not last “many months”.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has indicated that Mr Musk may consider leaving X, formerly known as Twitter, if his company does not take action.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the Government’s focus was “protecting children” but kept its presence in X “under review”, adding: “I think we’ve been clear that all options are on the table.”
In response to the ministers’ threats, Mr Musk accused the UK Government of being “fascist” and trying to stifle free speech.
