UK threatened with sanctions if Starmer blocks Musk’s X
The UK has been warned it could face US sanctions if Sir Keir Starmer attempts to block Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, amid mounting concern over its AI tool generating sexualised images of women and children.
Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican Congresswoman and ally of Donald Trump, said she was drafting legislation that would allow the US to sanction the UK if the UK bans or restricts X under the Online Safety Act.
Luna, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said any move against the platform would amount to “a political war against Elon Musk and free speech”.
Her intervention follows revelations that users have been exploiting X’s AI chatbot, Grok, to create non-consensual sexual images, including images involving children.
The Internet Watch Foundation has confirmed it identified criminal child sexual abuse imagery, involving children aged between 11 and 13, which appeared to have been generated using Grok and shared on dark web forums.
The controversy has put Downing Street under pressure to explain why the government continues to use X as its official communications channel.
Starmer said this week that “all options are on the table” to force compliance with UK law, including backing enforcement action by Ofcom.
The Online Safety Act gives the regulator powers to levy fines running into billions of pounds or, in extreme cases, seek court orders that could result in services being blocked in the UK.
Ofcom has historically never exercised its strongest powers, and any ban would require a lengthy legal process.
Luna said legislation was “being drafted” in the US that would mirror previous actions taken against countries or officials seen as restricting X.
She pointed to Washington’s decision last year to sanction a Brazilian judge who temporarily blocked the platform, as well as travel restrictions imposed on former EU digital chief Thierry Breton.
Downing Street has dismissed suggestions that recent changes by X go far enough.
After criticism mounted, X limited Grok’s image-generation features to paid subscribers.
A Number 10 spokesman said the move was “not a solution”, adding that it merely turned “an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service”.
“What it does prove is that X can move swiftly when it wants to do so,” the spokesperson said, confirming that Ofcom has the government’s full backing to take enforcement action.
The row has also triggered debate within Labour over whether the party and government should leave the platform altogether.
Anna Turley, Labour’s party Chair and a cabinet office minister, said conversations were taking place about continued use of X, describing the images generated by Grok as “completely unacceptable”.
Several MPs and committees, including the Commons women and equalities committee, have already stopped using the platform.
Others argue the government should remain on X to reach voters where they are active.
A ban on X, which hosts around 20 million users across the country, would mark a significant escalation in tensions between London and Washington, pitting online safety enforcement against free-speech concerns and adding a new flashpoint to transatlantic tech relations.