The misuse of artificial intelligence on Elon Musk's social media platform X to generate non-consensual, sexually explicit imagery has been condemned as both "disturbing" and "predictable" by a prominent campaigner and UK officials. The controversy centres on the platform's integrated AI chatbot, Grok, which users have reportedly manipulated to create images of people, including children, "in minimal clothing" without their consent.
Influencer Warns of Targeting the Vulnerable
Body positivity influencer Alex Light voiced profound concern for groups she described as "already vulnerable in the online space". She specifically highlighted risks to women, young people, queer individuals, and other marginalised communities. Light told The Mirror that the trend of "digital undressing" is traumatic and predictable in the worst way.
"When powerful tools are made accessible without safeguards, they are almost inevitably turned on those who are already vulnerable," she stated. Light argued that protecting bodily autonomy online must start with robust guardrails baked into the technology itself, treating consent as non-negotiable and recognising non-consensual image manipulation as a serious form of abuse.
Government and Platform Response
The UK government has reacted with forceful criticism. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall demanded that X address the matter "urgently", pledging Ofcom's full support for any enforcement measures. She declared that the UK "will not tolerate the endless proliferation of disgusting and abusive material online".
In a statement that drew particular ire from Downing Street, X revealed its plan to move the creation of such deepfakes behind a "premium service" paywall. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer slammed this move as "an insult to victims of misogyny and sexual violence" and proof that X can act swiftly when it chooses.
"It's not a solution," the spokesperson said. "We must stop these unlawful, abhorrent images being made on Grok. And so we will prioritise action that delivers that."
Regulatory Scrutiny and Missed Warnings
The scandal has triggered immediate scrutiny from the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom. A spokesperson confirmed Ofcom is aware of the "serious concerns raised" and has made "urgent contact" with both X and xAI to understand their compliance with the Online Safety Act. This law mandates that tech firms assess and mitigate the risk of UK users encountering illegal content.
Critics argue the crisis was foreseen. According to Reuters, X ignored a letter from civil society and child safety groups last year warning that xAI was close to unleashing a torrent of non-consensual deepfakes. Dani Pinter of the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation called it "an entirely predictable and avoidable atrocity", citing X's failure to remove abusive images from its AI training data.
On Saturday, January 10, 2026, Elon Musk stated: "Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content." This followed a post from Grok's official X account on Friday confessing to "lapses in safeguards" and urgently working to fix them, while stressing that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is illegal and prohibited.
