The United Kingdom has intensified pressure on Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok and its parent platform X following widespread reports that the tool was being used to create non-consensual sexually explicit deepfake images of real people, including minors.

The government has enacted emergency legislation to criminalise the production or request of deepfake intimate images without consent, with the new offence set to take effect in early February.

This decisive move is rooted in a political and regulatory backlash to what officials describe as widespread harassment and abuse enabled by Grok’s image-generation capabilities.

Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has opened a formal investigation into whether X breached its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act after reports emerged that Grok’s AI was used to generate and share sexually explicit manipulated images.

Ofcom’s probe could lead to substantial fines — potentially up to ten per cent of relevant global revenues — or even a ban on X’s services in the UK if the company fails to comply with the law.

Government ministers, including the technology secretary, have urged rapid compliance while stressing that the new legal framework aims to protect victims rather than suppress legitimate expression.

The controversy has triggered a broader global response, with countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia banning or restricting access to Grok over concerns that it can produce non-consensual and sexually explicit deepfakes.

Musk’s company, xAI, and X have implemented geoblocking measures and restricted Grok’s image-generation features within jurisdictions where such content is illegal, and have limited certain tools to paid users.

Despite these steps, independent tests and advocacy groups have highlighted ongoing weaknesses in safeguards, particularly in the standalone Grok application outside the X ecosystem.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and senior ministers have framed the crackdown as necessary to uphold safety and dignity online, emphasizing that freedom of speech does not extend to violating individual consent or facilitating intimate image abuse.

The measures follow mounting international criticism and align with renewed global debates about AI ethics, accountability and digital protections.

With the UK now moving to criminalise non-consensual deepfakes and Ofcom’s investigation underway, the episode marks a landmark moment in regulating generative AI technologies and holding platforms to account for harms arising from their misuse.