Elon Musk has claimed critics of X “want any excuse for censorship” as his social media platform faces the threat of being shut down over deepfake pornography and child abuse images.
The billionaire appeared defiant on Friday despite the outcry over reports that X’s AI chatbot Grok was creating sexualised images of people, including children, at users’ request.
Women told The Independent they have been left feeling “violated and humiliated” after “dehumanising” images of them have been created by users of Grok without their consent.
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has been joined by other world leaders in taking on Musk over the sexualised content on X and calling for immediate action to be taken.
Governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned the reports, with some opening inquiries into the issue, and Indonesia now becoming the first country to block Grok.
But pointing to claims other AI programmes created non-sexualised images of women in bikinis, Musk posted on his site on Friday night: “They want any excuse for censorship.”
Criticism of X has focused on Grok’s production of images of child abuse and manipulation of photographs of real women and girls to remove their clothes.
The UK’s technology secretary Liz Kendall said she would back regulator Ofcom if it decided to effectively block X if it failed to comply with British laws. “Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent,” she said.
Ofcom said it was undertaking an “expedited assessment” after the social media platform responded to an urgent contact on Monday.
But Musk responded by sharing a post from US legislator Anna Paulina Luna threatening to sanction both Sir Keir and the UK if X was blocked in the country.
On Friday, X appeared to have changed Grok’s settings, with the chatbot telling users that only paid subscribers could ask it to manipulate images.
However, reports suggested this only applied to those making requests in reply to other posts, and other ways of editing or creating images, including on a separate Grok website, remained open.
Downing Street said the changes are “not a solution” but prove that X can move quickly when it wants to.
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “It’s not a solution. In fact, it’s insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual violence.
“What it does prove is that X can move swiftly when it wants to do so.
“You heard the prime minister yesterday. He was abundantly clear that X needs to act and needs to act now, it is time for X to grip this issue.”
Ms Kendall said it was “totally unacceptable for Grok to allow this if you’re willing to pay for it” and added she expected an update on Ofcom’s next steps “in days, not weeks”.
Ofcom has powers under the Online Safety Act to fine businesses up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue, as well as to take criminal action.
It can also order payment providers, advertisers and internet service providers to stop working with a site, effectively banning them, though this would require agreement from the courts.
Ms Kendall also pointed to plans to ban nudification apps as part of the Crime and Policing Bill going through Parliament and said powers to criminalise the creation of intimate images without consent would come into force in the coming weeks.
Indonesia temporarily blocked Grok on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to do so.
“The government views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space," Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. The ministry has also summoned X officials to discuss the matter.
The European Commission extended on Thursday a retention order sent to X last year to retain and preserve all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026 amid the concerns.
Germany's media minister Wolfram Weimer called on the European Commission on Tuesday to take legal steps, saying EU rules provided tools to tackle illegal content and alleging the problem risked turning into the “industrialisation of sexual harassment”.
In France, government ministers said on 2 January they had referred sexually explicit Grok-generated content circulating on X to prosecutors and also alerted French media regulator Arcom to check the platform's compliance with the European Union's Digital Services Act.
Italy's data protection authority warned on Thursday that using AI tools to create “undressed” deepfake imagery of real people without consent could amount to serious privacy violations and, in some cases, criminal offences.
Swedish political leaders condemned on Thursday Grok-generated sexualised “undressing” content after reporting that imagery involving Sweden's deputy prime minister was produced from a user prompt.
Beyond Europe, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese condemned the reports that Grok is being used to exploit or sexualise people without their consent as “abhorrent”. He said his country’s independent online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, is looking into the issue.
India's IT Ministry on 2 January sent X a formal notice over alleged Grok-enabled creation or sharing of obscene sexualised images, directing the content to be taken down and requiring a report on the actions being taken within 72 hours.
Malaysia's communications regulator MCMC said on 3 January it would summon X and open an investigation into alleged misuse of Grok to generate obscene or sexualised “undressing” content, warning it may involve offences under Section 233 of Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Musk previously said on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content.
X reposted this and added: “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.”
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