Musk’s X could be banned in Britain over AI chatbot row
Sir Keir Starmer brands deepfakes on social media site ‘disgusting and not to be tolerated’
Britain could ban Elon Musk’s X amid a row over its AI undressing women and children in photographs.
Musk’s X could be banned in Britain over AI chatbot row
Sir Keir Starmer brands deepfakes on social media site ‘disgusting and not to be tolerated’
Elon Musk
Elon Musk acquired X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44bn (£33bn) in 2022Credit: Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images
Matthew Field, Senior Technology Reporter.Genevieve Holl-Allen, Political Correspondent.
08 January 2026 7:54pm GMT
Britain could ban Elon Musk’s X amid a row over its AI undressing women and children in photographs.
Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday that he had asked media regulator Ofcom for “all options to be on the table” after it emerged that child sexual abuse images had been generated using X’s AI chatbot, Grok.
No 10 sources pointed to the full powers of the Online Safety Act, which include fines of billions of pounds or even blocking access to X in Britain. The social media site has around 650 million users worldwide including 20 million in the UK.
The Prime Minister said: “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting and it’s not to be tolerated.
“X need to get their act together and get this material down – and we will take action on this because it’s simply not tolerable.”
The warning came as X users continued to generate thousands of pictures of women and children undressed using Grok’s AI, including in sexualised poses and in bikinis.
The so-called deepfakes have included images of the Princess of Wales, cabinet ministers, MPs and celebrities.
Musk’s X could be banned in Britain over AI chatbot row
Sir Keir Starmer brands deepfakes on social media site ‘disgusting and not to be tolerated’
Britain could ban Elon Musk’s X amid a row over its AI undressing women and children in photographs.
Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday that he had asked media regulator Ofcom for “all options to be on the table” after it emerged that child sexual abuse images had been generated using X’s AI chatbot, Grok.
No 10 sources pointed to the full powers of the Online Safety Act, which include fines of billions of pounds or even blocking access to X in Britain. The social media site has around 650 million users worldwide including 20 million in the UK.
The Prime Minister said: “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting and it’s not to be tolerated.
“X need to get their act together and get this material down – and we will take action on this because it’s simply not tolerable.”
The warning came as X users continued to generate thousands of pictures of women and children undressed using Grok’s AI, including in sexualised poses and in bikinis.
The so-called deepfakes have included images of the Princess of Wales, cabinet ministers, MPs and celebrities.
On Wednesday, a UK internet watchdog warned it had uncovered images created with Grok that had been shared on a dark web forum that would constitute illegal child sexual abuse material.
It is understood that No 10 has raised the images directly with X, formerly known as Twitter, which Mr Musk acquired for $44bn (£33bn) in 2022.
Sir Keir told Greatest Hits Radio: “X has got to get a grip of this and Ofcom has our full support to take action in relation to this. This is wrong.
“It’s unlawful. We’re not going to tolerate it. I’ve asked for all options to be on the table.”
The row threatens to deepen a rift with the US over free speech. The White House has accused Labour of backsliding over freedom of expression and Donald Trump has directly criticised the UK’s tech rules as “not a good thing”.
Mr Musk – who is the world’s richest man – has criticised Britain’s Online Safety Act, claiming the law’s purpose is the “suppression of the people”.
the business soon after.
Louise Haigh, a former transport secretary under Sir Keir, urged the Government and the Labour Party to delete its X accounts.
She said: “The enablement, if not encouragement, of child sexual abuse mean it is unconscionable to use the site for another minute.”
X’s images have also provoked anger in the US. Ted Cruz, a Republican senator, called the AI pictures “unacceptable” and a violation of a US law banning AI revenge porn.
Mr Musk said this week: “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”.
X was contacted for comment.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/01/08/musks-x-could-be-banned-in-britain-over-ai-chatbot-row/
Britain could ban Elon Musk’s X amid a row over its AI undressing women and children in photographs.
Musk’s X could be banned in Britain over AI chatbot row
Sir Keir Starmer brands deepfakes on social media site ‘disgusting and not to be tolerated’
Elon Musk
Elon Musk acquired X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44bn (£33bn) in 2022Credit: Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images
Matthew Field, Senior Technology Reporter.Genevieve Holl-Allen, Political Correspondent.
08 January 2026 7:54pm GMT
Britain could ban Elon Musk’s X amid a row over its AI undressing women and children in photographs.
Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday that he had asked media regulator Ofcom for “all options to be on the table” after it emerged that child sexual abuse images had been generated using X’s AI chatbot, Grok.
No 10 sources pointed to the full powers of the Online Safety Act, which include fines of billions of pounds or even blocking access to X in Britain. The social media site has around 650 million users worldwide including 20 million in the UK.
The Prime Minister said: “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting and it’s not to be tolerated.
“X need to get their act together and get this material down – and we will take action on this because it’s simply not tolerable.”
The warning came as X users continued to generate thousands of pictures of women and children undressed using Grok’s AI, including in sexualised poses and in bikinis.
The so-called deepfakes have included images of the Princess of Wales, cabinet ministers, MPs and celebrities.
Musk’s X could be banned in Britain over AI chatbot row
Sir Keir Starmer brands deepfakes on social media site ‘disgusting and not to be tolerated’
Britain could ban Elon Musk’s X amid a row over its AI undressing women and children in photographs.
Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday that he had asked media regulator Ofcom for “all options to be on the table” after it emerged that child sexual abuse images had been generated using X’s AI chatbot, Grok.
No 10 sources pointed to the full powers of the Online Safety Act, which include fines of billions of pounds or even blocking access to X in Britain. The social media site has around 650 million users worldwide including 20 million in the UK.
The Prime Minister said: “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting and it’s not to be tolerated.
“X need to get their act together and get this material down – and we will take action on this because it’s simply not tolerable.”
The warning came as X users continued to generate thousands of pictures of women and children undressed using Grok’s AI, including in sexualised poses and in bikinis.
The so-called deepfakes have included images of the Princess of Wales, cabinet ministers, MPs and celebrities.
On Wednesday, a UK internet watchdog warned it had uncovered images created with Grok that had been shared on a dark web forum that would constitute illegal child sexual abuse material.
It is understood that No 10 has raised the images directly with X, formerly known as Twitter, which Mr Musk acquired for $44bn (£33bn) in 2022.
Sir Keir told Greatest Hits Radio: “X has got to get a grip of this and Ofcom has our full support to take action in relation to this. This is wrong.
“It’s unlawful. We’re not going to tolerate it. I’ve asked for all options to be on the table.”
The row threatens to deepen a rift with the US over free speech. The White House has accused Labour of backsliding over freedom of expression and Donald Trump has directly criticised the UK’s tech rules as “not a good thing”.
Mr Musk – who is the world’s richest man – has criticised Britain’s Online Safety Act, claiming the law’s purpose is the “suppression of the people”.
the business soon after.
Louise Haigh, a former transport secretary under Sir Keir, urged the Government and the Labour Party to delete its X accounts.
She said: “The enablement, if not encouragement, of child sexual abuse mean it is unconscionable to use the site for another minute.”
X’s images have also provoked anger in the US. Ted Cruz, a Republican senator, called the AI pictures “unacceptable” and a violation of a US law banning AI revenge porn.
Mr Musk said this week: “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”.
X was contacted for comment.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/01/08/musks-x-could-be-banned-in-britain-over-ai-chatbot-row/
