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Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has issued a demand for urgent action from Elon Musk’s X, following reports that its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, is being utilized to generate non-consensual sexualized images of women and girls.
The BBC has reviewed multiple instances on X where users prompted the bot to digitally manipulate images of individuals, creating the appearance of undress or placing them in sexual contexts without their consent.
Secretary Kendall denounced the situation as “absolutely appalling,” stating, “we cannot and will not allow the proliferation of these degrading images.”
In a statement, X asserted: “We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.”
“Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” the statement continued.
On Monday, the regulatory body Ofcom announced it had made “urgent contact” with Elon Musk’s company xAI and is investigating concerns that Grok has been producing “undressed images” of individuals.
Secretary Kendall has expressed her support for Ofcom’s actions.
“It is absolutely right that Ofcom is looking into this as a matter of urgency and it has my full backing to take any enforcement action it deems necessary,” she stated.
Grok is a free AI assistant, with optional premium features, that responds to prompts from X users when tagged in a post.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or additional context to other users’ comments.
However, X users are also able to employ Grok’s AI image editing feature to modify uploaded images without the consent of the person depicted.
Women who have discovered sexualized images of themselves created by Grok have described the experience as dehumanizing.
Dr. Daisy Dixon is among the female X users who have recently encountered instances of individuals using everyday photos she posted on the platform and instructing Grok to undress or sexualize her.
Speaking to the BBC, she expressed feeling “shocked,” “humiliated,” and concerned for her safety as a result of the images.
While she supports the Technology Secretary’s call for action and finds it “heartening,” she remains frustrated with X’s perceived lack of accountability.
“Myself and many other women on X continue to report the inappropriate AI images/videos we are being sent daily, but X continues to reply that there has been no violation of X rules,” she said.
“I just hope Kendall’s words turn into concrete enforcement soon – I don’t want to open my X app anymore as I’m frightened about what I might see.”
In her statement, Secretary Kendall emphasized: “Services and operators have a clear obligation to act appropriately. This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law.”
“We have made intimate image abuse and cyberflashing priority offences under the Online Safety Act – including where images are AI-generated. This means platforms must prevent such content from appearing online and act swiftly to remove it if it does.”
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey urged the government to “act very quickly” to stop the generation of sexualised images by Grok, suggesting one course of action would be to “reduce access” to X.
“If the reports turn out to be true the National Crime Agency need to launch a criminal investigation,” Sir Ed said.
“People like Elon Musk have to be held to account.”
Speaking to BBC Newshour, Thomas Regnier, spokesman for tech sovereignty at the European Commission, said they were taking the issue “very seriously”.
“We don’t want this in the European Union… it’s appalling, it’s disgusting.
“The Wild West is over in Europe,” he said.
“All companies have the obligation to put their own house in order – and this starts by being responsible and removing illegal content that is being generated by your AI tool.”
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