A former member of the Cabinet has urged the Labour Party and the Government to completely sever ties with Elon Musk’s X platform following the emergence of sexualized deepfake images of children created using its AI chatbot.
Louise Haigh, a former Transport Secretary, criticized the social media platform for facilitating child sexual abuse and asserted that continuing to use the site is no longer acceptable.
Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, called on X to take immediate action in response to reports that its AI tool, Grok, was involved in generating sexualized images of minors. Starmer emphasized the importance of upholding the law and stated that such behavior will not be tolerated in the UK.
Ofcom recently raised concerns with Musk’s X and xAI regarding the use of Grok to produce inappropriate content, including sexualized images of children. Ofcom highlighted a feature within Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI, that produces explicit images of individuals, including children.
Starmer reiterated his condemnation of the situation, emphasizing the need for X to address the issue promptly. He expressed full support for Ofcom to take necessary actions in response to the unlawful activities on the platform.
In light of the recent developments, Ms. Haigh called for a complete withdrawal of her party and the government from X due to the platform’s involvement in facilitating child sexual abuse. She highlighted the importance of communicating through safer online platforms to protect the public from such illegal activities.
Ms. Haigh resigned from the Government in November 2024 after admitting to a fraud offense related to a mobile phone theft in 2014.
Downing Street announced that all options, including a potential boycott of X, are being considered as ministers stand behind Ofcom in taking regulatory actions. The Prime Minister’s office emphasized the need to address the dissemination of demeaning and unlawful content online.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall demanded urgent action from Musk’s social media company and pledged full support for Ofcom to enforce regulatory measures against X and xAI. Kendall stressed the UK’s stance against the spread of offensive material online.
Reports indicate that users of X prompted Grok to generate inappropriate images of children. Grok’s official account acknowledged the need to enhance safeguards to prevent harmful content and committed to compliance with regulations for a safer online environment.
Efforts are underway to address the issue, with Musk announcing the release of a new version of Grok and urging users to update their applications. The Internet Watch Foundation has identified concerning imagery created using Grok, raising alarm over the potential harm caused by the proliferation of such content.
The foundation’s head of hotline expressed grave concerns over the ease of generating illicit material using AI tools and emphasized the need to prevent the mainstream adoption of sexualized AI content involving children. The foundation called for stricter measures to combat the dissemination of such harmful material.