Elon Musk’s social media platform X faces a potential ban in the UK after Ofcom launched a formal investigation into whether it has failed to comply with UK law. The move follows calls from ministers urging the regulator to use its “full legal powers” over unlawful AI images generated on the site.
X has faced criticism for declining to fully remove the ability for users to sexually manipulate images of women and children using its built-in AI tool, Grok, instead limiting the function to paying subscribers. Tech Secretary Liz Kendall wrote in The Telegraph that it is “an insult and totally unacceptable for Grok to still allow this if you’re willing to pay for it,” and expects Ofcom to use “the full legal powers parliament has given them.”
Under the Online Safety Act, which came into force at the end of March 2025, Ofcom can apply to courts to effectively ban a non-compliant platform by restricting access, requiring internet service providers to block the domain and app stores to remove the mobile app. This would be an unprecedented intervention, affecting 20 million UK users, including government officials and companies.
Ofcom’s investigation will examine whether X has failed to comply with legal obligations, including assessing the risk of people seeing illegal content, whether X has taken appropriate steps to prevent this, and whether it removes illegal content swiftly. X will have an opportunity to respond to a provisional decision.
Alternatively, Ofcom could impose explicit requirements on X to ensure compliance, a softer first step that gives Musk an opportunity to remove the offending tool. However, his recent comments—including branding the UK government “fascist” and sharing an AI-generated image of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a bikini—suggest he may not comply. The US State Department’s under-secretary for public diplomacy, Sarah Rogers, derided the possibility, accusing ministers of “contemplating a Russia-style X ban.”
