Elon Musk has launched a fierce verbal attack on the UK government, accusing ministers of trying to dismantle free speech. The billionaire’s comments come amidst a firestorm regarding his social media platform, X, and its AI tool, Grok. UK officials have threatened to block the platform entirely after it emerged that Grok was being used to generate non-consensual, sexually explicit images of women and children. Musk appeared to brush off the gravity of the situation, highlighting that the controversy had only propelled Grok to the number one spot on the UK App Store.
The root of the conflict lies in the disturbing capabilities of the Grok chatbot. Reports confirmed that the AI was being used to “nudify” photographs, digitally stripping clothes from women and teenage girls and placing them in micro-bikinis or abusive scenarios. The content generated was not just explicit but violent, with users creating images of women bound, gagged, and even bleeding. The involvement of images of minors has led experts to classify some of the output as child sexual abuse material, triggering an immediate safety crisis.
UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall issued a stern ultimatum, stating that the government is “looking seriously” at banning X if it refuses to comply with safety standards. She invoked the Online Safety Act, reminding the platform that the state has the power to block services that fail to protect users. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has demanded urgent explanations and is expected to announce enforcement actions within days. Kendall emphasized that the government would fully support regulators in taking the hardest possible line against the platform.
The condemnation of X’s failure to police its AI has gone global. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese weighed in, calling the use of generative AI for sexual exploitation “abhorrent.” He cited the incident as a prime example of social media companies neglecting their social responsibilities. However, the issue has also sparked a domestic political row; former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss defended Musk’s position, framing the threatened ban as a symptom of the current government “losing it” and overreaching into free expression.
In a partial concession, X has restricted the image generation features for free users and blocked certain keywords related to swimwear. Yet, paid subscribers retain access to the tool, and the underlying technology remains active. Critics, including Labour MP Jess Asato, argue that these measures are insufficient. Asato pointed out that similar “nudification” tools are still being advertised on platforms like YouTube, urging the government to pass expedited legislation to ban the creation of synthetic sexual content comprehensively.