UK regulators and ministers are facing mounting pressure to take swift and decisive action against artificial intelligence platforms, following revelations that the Elon Musk-owned chatbot Grok has been used to generate humiliating and sexualised imagery of women and children.
Outrage Over AI-Generated Abuse
The scandal erupted after an online trend emerged where users prompted Grok Imagine, an AI image generator, to digitally undress photographs of women and girls, depicting them in bikinis. Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall condemned the proliferation of these digitally altered pictures, some of which are overtly sexualised or violent, labelling them "unacceptable in decent society".
Charity the Internet Watch Foundation has gathered evidence that the tool has also been used to create illegal child sexual abuse material. While X, the platform owned by Musk's xAI company, states it removes such illegal content, critics argue there is no sign of enhanced safeguards to address the cruel and violating bikini images, even where they may not technically breach current laws.
Regulatory Scrutiny and Industry Resistance
Attention in the UK has now turned to the media regulator, Ofcom. The watchdog is assessing whether to launch a formal investigation, but faces calls to demonstrate greater urgency and transparency. "Ofcom needs to inject more urgency into its approach, and explain the steps it is taking," a key demand states.
The UK's Online Safety Act treats service disruption as a last resort, meaning officials must follow a lengthy process before considering blocking a site. This creates a danger of delaying tactics by non-compliant platforms. A concerning precedent exists in the unpaid fines levied against pornography websites that failed to implement age verification checks.
The situation is compounded by the tech industry's stance. Despite the controversy, xAI recently announced it had raised $20 billion in its latest funding round. Elon Musk himself posted on X this week, asserting that "Grok is on the side of the angels."
Calls for Immediate Legal Reform
Experts argue that the government cannot wait for lengthy debates on future AI legislation to address such immediate threats. There are growing demands to close legal gaps related to chatbots now, potentially by amending existing legislation like the Police and Crime Bill, rather than waiting for a dedicated AI bill that could take years.
Some are looking to international models, such as proposals in Denmark to give people copyright over their own likeness, making non-consensual image manipulation illegal. In the UK, Professor Clare McGlynn has advocated for a broader legal approach to sexual offences to tackle emerging technological threats cohesively.
The core message to ministers and regulators is clear: they must prove that user safety, not platform growth, is the priority. Democratically agreed rules for the online world must be robustly enforced, not ignored by big tech. The events of the past week present a critical test of that commitment.
