X's AI-powered chatbot Grok has been on the spot for all the wrong reasons since the latter months of last year after it positively responded to user requests to undress real people based on their posted photographs, turning them into explicit sexual content. Consequently, the company has been under scrutiny across the world for allowing users to generate nonconsensual explicit content.
Reports suggest that the controversial Grok feature has been widely used, generating thousands of sexually explicit images per hour. What's even more concerning is that the feature isn't limited to adults; it even affects minors.
A statement by the company revealed that some of the consequences of using the chatbot to generate sexually explicit content include removing the content from the platform, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
Elon Musk addressed the issue, claiming that the concerns over Grok's sexual deepfakes were a cover-up to lobotomize the platform through censorship. "They just want to suppress free speech," added Musk. Consequently, Ofcom launched an official investigation into X over Grok's sexual deepfakes. The investigation seeks to establish whether the platform failed to adhere to the Online Safety Act, which could lead to hefty fines of “up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater” or the platform being banned in the United Kingdom.
And now, the UK is bringing into force a law which will make it illegal to create non-consensual intimate deepfake images (via BBC). According to the UK’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall:
The Data Act, passed last year, made it a criminal offence to create – or request the creation of – non-consensual intimate images. And today, I can announce to the House that this offence will be brought into force this week and that I will make it a priority offence in the Online Safety Act too.
Liz Kendall, UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Ofcom is expected to highlight a clear timeline, specifying when it expects to conclude its investigations. “The public – and most importantly, the victims of Grok’s activities – expect swift and decisive action. So this must not take months and months,” added Kendall.
Kendall further refuted Elon Musk's claims about the investigation into X and Grok's sexually explicit deepfake images being about the suppression of free speech. "This is not, as some would claim, about restricting freedom of speech," she indicated. "It is about tackling violence against women and girls."
As such, platforms like X will need to take proactive action in order to prevent explicit non-consensual deepfake content from appearing in the first place.
This isn't the first time AI tools have been caught generating sexually explicit deepfake photos. In 2024, AI-generated images of pop icon Taylor Swift surfaced online, sparking a debate around the use of AI to create images of people without their consent.
Should AI deepfake nudes be treated as a crime in the UK? Share your thoughts in the comments and cast your vote in the poll!
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