Starmer warns X that if it cannot control Grok, ‘we will’

Sir Keir Starmer has warned Elon Musk’s X that if it cannot control Grok “we will” and said the social media site could lose its “right to self-regulate”.

It comes as media watchdog Ofcom launched an investigation into whether the social media platform breached UK law over reports that its chatbot Grok was being used to create and share sexualised images of children.

Meanwhile, the Technology Secretary told MPs that creating non-consensual intimate images will become a criminal offense this week, describing sexualized images created by artificial intelligence as “weapons of abuse”.

Speaking at a meeting of Labor backbenchers in parliament, the Prime Minister said: “Grok and X’s actions are absolutely disgusting and disgraceful.

“Protecting abusive users instead of abused women and children shows a complete distortion of priorities.

“So let me be very clear, we will not oppose this, because no matter how unstable or complex the world is, this Government will be guided by its values. We will side with the weak against the strong.”

“If X can’t control Grok, we will, and we will do it quickly, because if you profit from harm and exploitation, you lose the right to self-regulate.”

Technology Minister Liz Kendall told MPs this week that it would be an offense to use tools such as Grok to create sexual images without consent.

“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 announce to the House today that this offense will come into force this week,” he told the Commons.

He said nudification practices would also be criminalized to target the problem “at the source”.

Ms Kendall said the Internet Watch Foundation had “reported criminal images of children under 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.

“These are not harmless images. They are weapons of abuse and illegal, disproportionately targeting women and girls.”

Ms Kendall said Ofcom’s investigation into Grok should not last “many months”.

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

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.