Musk’s X restricts Grok photo editing in rare victory for Starmer
Elon Musk left behind in line Creation of deepfake images Using AI tool Grokrestrict Prevents chatbot from creating sexualized images where it is illegal.
Using Grok – an AI tool social media platform – create sexually explicit contentSeveral practices, including the sexual abuse of children, sparked a wave of concern among ministers; Ofcom announced earlier this week that it would launch an investigation into claims the tool was being used to digitally rip people off.
Britain also said it would introduce a law making the creation of non-consensual sexual images illegal, following a row in which Mr Musk claimed the British government was “fascist” and trying to restrict freedom of expression.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the company said it was placing restrictions on “editing images of real people revealing clothing such as bikinis.”
“This adds an extra layer of protection by helping ensure that anyone who tries to misuse a Grok account to violate the law or our policies is held accountable,” the company said.
“We are now geoblocking all users from creating images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire through their Grok account, and Grok on X in regions where this is illegal.”
Climbing is a rare victory Sir Keir Starmer, was pressuring the tech billionaire to take action on the issue.
The restriction will apply to all users, including paid subscribers, while image editing and creation will be limited to premium users.
Mr Musk claimed his chatbot would refuse to produce illegal content and appeared to blame “hostile hacking” for producing sexualized images.
With Not Safe for Work (NSFW) settings turned on, an
“This is the de facto standard in America. This will vary on a country-by-country basis based on the law in other regions,” he wrote Wednesday night.
The announcement comes after Sir Keir said he would “not back down” in his battle with Mr Musk over the creation of deepfakes; but welcomed reports that X was taking action to comply with the law.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir reiterated his condemnation of Grok as “disgusting” and “disgraceful” and said Ofcom had the full support of ministers to take action if X failed to take action.
He added: “I have been informed this morning that X is acting to ensure full compliance with UK law. If so, that is welcome, but we will not back down. They must take action.”
The prime minister later added that the government was “monitoring the situation closely.”
The Prime Minister responded to Emily Darlington, Labor MP for Milton Keynes Central, who said: “If the reports are true, Elon Musk went down under pressure from this government today. And let’s be clear, stripping women naked without their consent in real life or online is harassment. But we don’t know whether to trust what X said today and it’s not just happening with X.”
Mrs Darlington later explained: Independent She said that within minutes of her question to the Prime Minister, people were making requests to Grok asking for AI-generated bikini or nude photos of her.
He said: “Luckily Grok doesn’t seem to have responded to them so hopefully a change has been made.”
Also on Wednesday, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee called on X, along with other social media firms, to answer questions from MPs in Parliament about the threat posed by foreign disinformation targeting the UK online.
Mr Musk said he was not aware of “any underage nude images created by Grok” and claimed that the chatbot would “refuse to produce anything illegal” as its “operating principle” is “to comply with the laws of any country or state”.
