Ofcom launches formal investigation into X over Grok

Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into X’s AI tool, Grok, over it being used to create sexualised imagery of women and children.

The media watchdog says it contacted the social media company, X, on Monday 5 January and set a firm deadline of Friday 9 January to “explain what steps it has taken to comply with its duties to protect its users in the UK”.

The company replied by the deadline, and Ofcom has since carried out an “expedited assessment of available evidence as a matter of urgency”.

It adds that the formal investigation will look into whether X, owned by tech titan Elon Musk, has “failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act”.

In particular, the watchdog says it will look at:

The risk of people in the UK “seeing content that is illegal in the UK”;
Whether X has taken “appropriate steps to prevent people in the UK from seeing ‘priority’ illegal content” such as non-consensual intimate images;
If illegal content is being taken down “swiftly” when the social media platform is made aware of it;
If X is protecting users from Grok breaching privacy laws
The risk posed by Grok to children in the UK;
Whether X has “highly effective age assurance to protect UK children from seeing pornography”.

Total ban on X is possible but only ‘where appropriate’

The regulator says that if it finds a company has broken the law, it can require social media companies to “take specific steps to come into compliance or to remedy harm caused by the breach”.

It can impose fines of up to £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.

In the “most serious cases of ongoing non-compliance”, Ofcom can apply to a court for an order to require advertisers or payment providers to withdraw from the platform or for “internet service providers to block access to a site in the UK”.

But it adds that this would be “where appropriate and proportionate to prevent significant harm to individuals in the UK”.

Ministers have made it clear that they would support Ofcom if it concludes that X should be banned in the UK.

But the Tories have said they do not think a ban would be the correct approach.

A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning.

“Platforms must protect people in the UK from content that’s illegal in the UK, and we won’t hesitate to investigate where we suspect companies are failing in their duties, especially where there’s a risk of harm to children.”

They added that investigation will “follow due process” but will be treated as a “matter of the highest priority”.

Banning X is ‘the wrong answer’ to Grok and AI issues, says Badenoch
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has been speaking to broadcasters this morning about her proposal to ban under-16s from using social media.

She said: “Children are different from adults, and what we’re seeing is that social media companies are profiting from their distraction and their anxiety, and parents can’t cope.

“So we want to bring in an age limit for social media. Now is the time for the social media companies to work with us. What we’re not doing is bringing in big censorship, big bans. This is common sense.”

Asked if she would support a ban on X amid the controversy over people using Grok as a nudification tool, Badenoch said: “I think banning X is the wrong answer. I’m not even sure what question it is that they’re answering.

“What we are seeing is a Labour government that did not have a plan, and they’re just throwing out random policies, probably to distract from the fact that they’re putting businesses in a very difficult position.”

Issue of AI porn is ‘so much bigger than X’s Grok’, says senior Tory
We sat down this morning with Tory shadow education secretary Laura Trott, and we asked about Grok, which is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool on X that people have been used to create images of people in a state of undress.

She told Mornings With Ridge And Frost that it is “gross”, but that she herself has not considered leaving the platform.

She said: “I think this is not just a problem for X. We have an issue with AI generated porn [more broadly].

“But we should be regulating this,” Trott continued. “This should be something which is regulated.

“We took some steps when we were in government to do this. The government are now I think going further on that with some amendments that we didn’t get time [before the last election].”

Challenged again by Sky’s Sophy Ridge, the senior Tory said: “We have unbelievable amounts of child sexual abuse imagery being generated by AI tools at the moment. This is not just Grok. It’s so much bigger than Grok.

“It’s important that we’re talking about this because this is an issue which we all have to deal with across a number of platforms.

“We need a regulatory environment that makes it very difficult for AI to do this. That is something the government has to put forward – it is not just about X.”