Elon Musk’s X could be banned in Britain, the prime minister has suggested, amid concerns it’s AI tool has been used to generate sexualised images of women and children.
Sir Keir Starmer indicated that the social media platform could be blocked in the UK after “unlawful” and “disgusting” images were generated using it’s AI “Grok” tool.
The prime minister said Ofcom, which has the power to effectively ban X in the UK, has the government’s “full support to take action” on the matter.
He told Greatest Hits Radio: “It’s unlawful. We’re not going to tolerate it. I’ve asked for all options to be on the table. It’s disgusting. X need to get their act together and get this material down.
“We will take action on this because it’s simply not tolerable.”
The platform has faced global backlash in recent days after it’s AI tool was repeatedly used to generate undressed images of people without consent.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) also confirmed the tool had been used to create “criminal imagery of children aged between 11 and 13”.
Ofcom said on Monday that it had made “urgent contact” with the technology company after the serious concerns were raised.
The powers within the Online Safety Act outline that in the extreme cases and with the agreement of the courts, Ofcom can require payment providers, advertisers and internet service providers to stop working with a site – effectively banning it in the UK.
The government has been under pressure to quit the social media platform altogether, with former transport secretary Louise Haigh telling ministers it is “unconscionable to use the site for another minute”.
On Friday, minister Anna Turley confirmed “conversations are taking place’ about coming off X.
Asked if the Labour Party will come off X, the chair of the party said: “Well, as I said, those conversations are taking place because, you know, it’s really important that we make sure that we’re in a safe space. But the priority is, firstly, X needs to get its act together.
“The prime minister has been very clear that this is absolutely abhorrent. Ofcom does have powers to tackle this, and we want to make sure they use the powers that we’ve given them. But of course, we’ll continue to evaluate that and go forward absolutely.”
A post this month on the Grok X account said that there have been “isolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing”, and added: “AI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely.”
The Grok account is now however replying to requests for images with a message indicating that it is only available to some users.
“Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers,” the message reads, and it gives users a link to sign up for the premium version of X.
