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Elon Musk‘s X has implemented new technological restrictions on its Grok AI chatbot to prevent the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, responding to mounting international pressure as Britain’s media regulator Ofcom continues its formal investigation into whether the platform violated U.K. law.
X announced Wednesday that it has deployed technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis, applying the restriction to all users including paid subscribers. The company also confirmed it is geoblocking the ability to generate such images in jurisdictions where it’s illegal.
“We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content,” X Safety said in a statement posted on its account.
U.K. regulator Ofcom called the changes a “welcome development” but emphasized its investigation into whether X broke U.K. laws “remains ongoing.” “We are working round the clock to progress this and get answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it,” an Ofcom spokesperson said, according to BBC News.
U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed Parliament on Wednesday, calling Grok and X’s actions “disgusting and shameful” while noting he had been informed that morning that X was acting to ensure full compliance with U.K. law.
“If so, that is welcome, but we are not going to back down,” Starmer said. “X must act. We will take the necessary measures. We will strengthen existing laws and prepare for legislation if it needs to go further, and Ofcom will continue its independent investigation.”
Starmer also criticized X’s earlier decision to move image editing behind a paywall as “horrific,” reaffirming that the government is “absolutely determined to take action” and that Ofcom has the government’s “full backing.”
X’s announcement came hours after California’s top prosecutor said the state was probing the spread of sexualized AI deepfakes, including of children, generated by the AI model, according to BBC News.
Elon Musk addressed the issue in a statement, claiming he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.”
“Obviously, Grok does not spontaneously generate images, it does so only according to user requests,” Musk said. “When asked to generate images, it will refuse to produce anything illegal, as the operating principle for Grok is to obey the laws of any given country or state.”
Musk acknowledged the possibility of “adversarial hacking of Grok prompts” doing something unexpected, adding: “If that happens, we fix the bug immediately.”
Image creation and the ability to edit images via the Grok account on the X platform are now only available to paid subscribers, which X said “adds an extra layer of protection by helping to ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse the Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable.”
X emphasized that all AI prompts and generated content posted to the platform must strictly adhere to its rules, with the company’s safety team working to “add additional safeguards, take swift and decisive action to remove violating and illegal content, permanently suspend accounts where appropriate, and collaborate with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.”
“The rapid evolution of generative AI presents challenges across the entire industry,” X stated. “We are actively working with users, our partners, governing bodies and other platforms to address issues more rapidly as they arise.”
The developments follow Ofcom’s announcement Monday that it had launched a formal investigation into X over “deeply concerning reports” that Grok has been used to create and share non-consensual intimate images and sexualized images of children that may constitute child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Malaysia and Indonesia blocked access to Grok over the past weekend, becoming the first countries in the world to ban the AI tool over concerns it could be used to create pornographic and non-consensual images involving women and children, according to BBC News.
If Ofcom’s investigation finds X violated the law, the regulator can impose fines up to £18 million ($24.2 million) or 10% of the company’s qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater. In severe cases of ongoing non-compliance, Ofcom can seek court orders for “business disruption measures,” including requiring internet service providers to block U.K. access to the platform.
Since the Online Safety Act’s duties took effect less than a year ago, Ofcom has launched investigations into more than 90 platforms and issued six fines for non-compliance.
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