UK to bring into force law to tackle Grok AI deepfakes this week

The UK will introduce legislation that will make it illegal to create non-consensual intimate images, following widespread concerns over Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot.

Technology Minister Liz Kendall said the government would also seek to make it illegal for companies to provide tools designed to create such images.

Speaking to the House of Commons, Kendall said that photographs of undressed women and children produced by artificial intelligence, taken without the consent of the person, are not “harmless images” but “weapons of abuse”.

The BBC has approached X for comment. It previously said: “Anyone who encourages or uses Grok to create illegal content will be subject to the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content.”.

Coming after hours Ofcom announced that it had launched an investigation To X for “deeply concerning reports” that Grok was altering people’s images.

In a statement, Kendall asked the regulator not to take “many months” to conclude the investigation and to set a timeline “as soon as possible.”

Sharing deepfakes of adults is currently illegal in the UK, but so far the law making creating or requesting them a criminal offense has not been implemented, although it comes into force in June 2025.

Kendall said he would also make it a “priority offense” in the Online Safety Act.

“The content circulating on X is disgusting. Not only is it an affront to decent society, it is also illegal,” he said.

“Let me be very clear; under the Online Safety Act, it is a criminal offense for individuals and platforms to share or threaten to share intimate images of people without their consent (including photos of people in their underwear).

“This means that individuals are committing a criminal offense if they create or attempt to create such content, including X, and anyone who does so should expect to face the full extent of the law.”