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Internet watchdog Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into X’s AI tool Grok, over claims it is being used to create sexualised imagery of women and children.
Ofcom said it contacted X bosses today and set a deadline of January 9 to “explain what steps it has taken to comply with its duties to protect its users in the UK.”
The investigation will focus on whether the social media platform X has complied with UK laws after reports its AI chatbot Grok created and shared sexualised images of children, the regulator has said.
An Ofcom statement said: "There have been deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images of people – which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography – and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material.
"As the UK's independent online safety watchdog, we urgently made contact with X on Monday 5 January and set a firm deadline of Friday 9 January for it to explain what steps it has taken to comply with its duties to protect its users in the UK.
"The company responded by the deadline, and we carried out an expedited assessment of available evidence as a matter of urgency. We have decided to open a formal investigation to establish whether X has failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act."
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said Ofcom must complete its probe "swiftly" because "the public and most importantly the victims – will not accept any delay".
"I welcome Ofcom's urgency in launching a formal investigation today," she said in a statement on Monday.
"It is vital that Ofcom complete this investigation swiftly because the public – and most importantly the victims – will not accept any delay.
"The content created and shared using Grok in recent days has been deeply disturbing and I will be updating Parliament later today on the Government's response."
Ministers have expressed their disgust at the use of the tool to make deepfakes and said they would Ofcom if it decided to block access to X for failing to comply with online safety laws.
Tech tycoon Elon Musk, the boss of Grok's creator xAI and the X social media platform where images have been shared, has accused the UK Government of being "fascist" and trying to curb free speech after ministers stepped up threats to effectively block his website.
Trade Secretary Peter Kyle, who previously served as technology secretary, defended the UK's Online Safety Act but conceded there was "more work to do" to protect people online, "particularly in places like X".
"Let me be really clear about X – X is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said US vice president JD Vance was sympathetic to efforts to tackle the Grok-produced images, although Donald Trump's free speech tsar later likened the UK's threats to Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Mr Lammy, who met Mr Vance in the US on Thursday, told The Guardian he raised the issue of Grok "and the horrendous, horrific situation in which this new technology is allowing deepfakes and the manipulation of images of women and children, which is just absolutely abhorrent".
"He agreed with me that it was entirely unacceptable," Mr Lammy said.
Sarah Rogers, under-secretary for public diplomacy at the US state department, later said the UK was "contemplating a Russia-style X ban, to protect them from bikini images".
Malaysia and Indonesia became the first countries to block Grok after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images.
The Grok chatbot, which is accessed through social media platform X, has been criticised for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children.
Regulators in Malaysia and Indonesia said existing controls were not preventing the creation and spread of fake pornographic content, particularly involving women and minors.
Indonesia's government temporarily blocked access to Grok on Saturday, followed by Malaysia on Sunday.
"The government sees non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space," Indonesia's communication and digital affairs minister Meutya Hafid said.
The ministry said the measure was intended to protect women, children and the broader community from fake pornographic content generated using AI.
Initial findings showed that Grok lacks effective safeguards to stop users from creating and distributing pornographic content based on real photos of Indonesian residents, Alexander Sabar, director general of digital space supervision, said in a separate statement.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission ordered a temporary restriction on Grok on Sunday after what it said was "repeated misuse" of the tool to generate obscene, sexually explicit and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors.
