Ofcom investigation launched into Grok AI deepfakes on X
The media and online safety watchdog has announced an investigation into Elon Musk’s X, to determine whether the platform has done enough to protect Brits from explicit deepfakes generated by its Grok AI.
Ofcom pointed to “deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images of people”.
The regulator said that alleged breaches “may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography – and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material”.
If X is found to be in violation of media law, Ofcom could issue a substantial fine – up to as much as 10 per cent of the social media firm’s revenue or £18m, depending on which number is bigger.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister has welcomed the Ofcom investigation, adding that the government is “fully committed to the right to free speech”.
“We have been very clear over the last week that the content created by Grok has been unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, tech secretary Liz Kendall said that it is “vital that Ofcom complete this investigation swiftly because the public – and most importantly the victims – will not accept any delay”.
“The content created and shared using Grok in recent days has been deeply disturbing and I will be updating Parliament later today on the government’s response.”
Ofcom said that it approached X last week on Monday, setting out a deadline of Friday 9th January.
War of words with Musk intensifies
This intervention comes amid a war of words across the Atlantic concerning Musk’s controversial social media platform, previously known as Twitter.
Trump administration official Sarah Rogers, from the US State Department, has warned the UK against going ahead with the mooted ban on X.
She said that the British government is “contemplating a Russia-style X ban to protect [women] from bikini images”.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on the Labour government – which started more than a year ago – asking: “Why is the UK government so fascist?”
The Tesla and Space X tycoon accused the government of looking for “any excuse for censorship”.
X’s AI-powered image manipulation has presented a significant test of the UK’s Online Safety Act, with a framework of rules based on user-posted content put under strain by a flood of material made by generative AI.
Though it is illegal to create and share explicit pictures of a subject without their consent, the current rules do not present a clear answer to what happens when the content is generated by a software function within the platform itself.