Elon Musk calls Grok AI backlash an excuse for censorship as UK threatens X ban over deepfakes

Musk says X outcry is 'excuse for censorship'

Elon Musk has said that critics of his social media site X are looking for "any excuse for censorship", amid reports that X's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok was creating non-consensual sexualised images of people, including children. Ofcom says it is conducting an urgent assessment of X in response, which has been backed by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall. She described the sexual manipulation of images of women and children as "despicable and abhorrent", adding that she would expect to see an update from Ofcom in "days". X has now limited the use of AI image function to those who pay a monthly fee, a change dubbed by Downing Street as "insulting" to victims of sexual violence.

Elon Musk says UK wants to suppress free speech as X faces possible ban

Ministers warn platform could be blocked after Grok AI used to create sexual images without consent Elon Musk has accused the UK government of wanting to suppress free speech after ministers threatened fines and a possible ban for his social media site X after its AI tool, Grok, was used to make sexual images of women and children without their consent. The billionaire claimed Grok was the most downloaded app on the UK App Store on Friday night after ministers threatened to take action unless the function to create sexually harassing images was removed. Responding to threats of a ban from the government, Musk wrote: "They just want to suppress free speech". Thousands of women have faced abuse from users of the AI tool which was first used to digitally strip fully clothed photographs into images showing them wearing micro bikinis, and then used for extreme image manipulation. Pictures of teenage girls and children were altered to show them wearing swimwear; experts said some of this content could be categorised as child sexual abuse material. Some users began to demand to see bruising on the bodies of the women, and for blood to be added to the images. Women were shown tied up, gagged and shot. Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, promised on Friday that ministers were looking seriously at the possibility of access to X being barred in the UK. Kendall said she expected Ofcom, which said this week that it was seeking urgent answers from the platform, to announce action within "days not weeks". "X needs to get a grip and get this material down," she said. "And I would remind them that in the Online Safety Act, there are backstop powers to block access to services if they refuse to comply with the law for people in the UK. And if Ofcom decides to use those powers, they would have the full backing of the government." The UK government's concerns were echoed by the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Speaking in Canberra on Saturday, Albanese said that "global citizens deserve better". Australia recently banned the use of social media for under-16s. Albanese added that "the use of generative artificial intelligence to exploit or sexualise people without their consent is abhorrent". "The fact that this tool was used so that people were using its image creation function through Grok is just completely abhorrent. It, once again, is an example of social media not showing social responsibility." Some rightwing political figures have tried to frame this as a free speech issue. Responding to the news X faced a potential ban, former prime minister Liz Truss said: "Starmer is really losing it now." On Friday, X partially restricted the abilities of Grok. Its public account lost the ability to generate images at the request of free users, leaving that function available only to paid subscribers. It also appeared to have stopped creating bikini images. However, the Grok app, which does not generate images publicly, is still able to create sexually explicit material from women's pictures. Other nudificiation apps are still available. Labour MP Jess Asato, who campaigns against the sexual abuse and harassment of women, said new legislation to ban these apps needed to be urgently expedited. Pointing out adverts for such apps are available on YouTube, she posted on social media: "It's not just XAi. This nudification tool was advertised yesterday on @YouTube. "No rules had been broken @Google said on reporting. "Our nudification legislation needs to be expedited."

Elon Musk says backlash to AI chatbot deepfake images is 'excuse for censorship'

The UK government "wants any excuse for censorship", Elon Musk has said, amid a growing backlash over deepfake sexual images produced by his social media site X's artificial intelligence tool. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said X needed "to get a grip of" its AI chatbot Grok, and he had asked media regulator Ofcom for "all options to be on the table". Indonesia temporarily blocked the chatbot on Saturday, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool. It comes after criticism from governments and regulators in Europe and Asia, with some opening inquiries into sexualised content. Earlier this week, the Internet Watch Foundation reported that criminals have been using Grok to create child sexual abuse imagery. On Friday, X appeared to have changed Grok's settings, with a message displayed by the chatbot saying image editing had been limited to paid subscribers - changes described as "insulting" by Downing Street. Appearing defiant, Musk later shared one X user's post criticising the Labour government for apparently focusing on his platform, pointing to claims of other AI programmes creating non-sexualised images of women in bikinis. "They want any excuse for censorship," the tech billionaire said. He has previously said on X that anyone using Grok ⁠to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded it. Criticism of X has focused on manipulation of photographs of real women to remove their clothes, and the reports of Grok's production of images of child abuse. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has said she would back regulator Ofcom should X be blocked if it fails to comply with UK laws, saying: "Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent." Ms Kendall said it was "totally unacceptable for Grok to allow this if you're willing to pay for it" and she expects an update on Ofcom's next steps "in days, not weeks". Ofcom is now undertaking an "expedited assessment" of the situation after making "urgent contact" with X over the reports. Read more: 'I fought a robot and won' Cyber flashing made a priority offence The media watchdog has powers under the Online Safety Act to fine businesses up to £18m, 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. Meanwhile, after the temporary block in Indonesia, communications and digital minister Meutya Hafid said 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". The country has strict rules that ban the sharing of online content deemed obscene.

Musk hits out at 'fascist' UK as row over X and its Grok AI escalates | BreakingNews

Elon Musk has accused Sir Keir Starmer's government of being "fascist" after UK ministers stepped up threats to ban social media site X over AI-generated sexualised images. The tech tycoon claimed critics of his X platform "want any excuse for censorship" as he appeared defiant despite the outcry over the use of the Grok artificial intelligence feature to create fake images of people, including children. Responding to a chart showing arrest figures for online posts with the UK at the top, Mr Musk said: "Why is the UK government so fascist?" Earlier, pointing to claims other AI programs created non-sexualised images of women in bikinis, he posted on X: "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. UK technology secretary Liz Kendall said she would back regulator Ofcom if it decided to effectively block X if it failed to comply with UK laws, saying: "Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent." Ofcom said it was undertaking an "expedited assessment" after X and Grok's creator xAI responded to contact from the regulator. But Mr Musk responded by sharing a post from US legislator Anna Paulina Luna threatening to sanction both Sir Keir Starmer and the UK if X was blocked in the UK. 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. 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 UK Online Safety Act to fine businesses up to £18 million or 10 per cent 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. The UK government's criticism of X was backed by Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. Speaking in Canberra, he said: "The use of generative artificial intelligence to exploit or sexualise people without their consent, is abhorrent."