The United Kingdom government is set to activate new laws making it a criminal offence to create non-consensual intimate images, following growing alarm over the image-generation capabilities of Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot.
Addressing Labour MPs on Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned that X could lose the ability to regulate itself if it fails to act.
“If X cannot control Grok, we will,” he said, stressing that the government would respond swiftly.
Alongside this, ministers plan to introduce further legislation that would outlaw the supply of online tools used to generate such images.
The BBC has contacted X for a response. The company has previously said: “Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”
The move comes shortly after Ofcom confirmed it had opened an investigation into X following what it described as “deeply concerning reports” of Grok being used to manipulate images of individuals.
If breaches are found, the regulator could fine X up to 10% of its global turnover or £18m, whichever is higher. In extreme cases, Ofcom could also apply for a court order forcing UK internet providers to block access to the platform.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall urged Ofcom to avoid delays, saying it should not take “months and months” to conclude its inquiry and should publish a timeline “as soon as possible”.
While sharing intimate deepfake images of adults is already illegal in the UK, provisions in the Data (Use and Access) Act that criminalise creating or requesting them have not yet been enforced, despite the law being passed in June 2025.
Campaigners recently accused the government of stalling.
Kendall told MPs the offence “will be brought into force this week” and said it would also be designated a “priority offence” under the Online Safety Act.
She described AI-generated images of women and children produced without consent as not “harmless images” but “weapons of abuse”.
“The content which has circulated on X is vile. It’s not just an affront to decent society, it is illegal,” she said.
“Let me be crystal clear – under the Online Safety Act, sharing intimate images of people without their consent, or threatening to share them, including pictures of people in their underwear, is a criminal offence for individuals and for platforms.
“This means individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create or seek to create such content including on X, and anyone who does this should expect to face the full extent of the law.”
However, Kendall stressed that accountability should extend beyond individual users to the platforms hosting such material.
“The responsibilities do not just lie with individuals for their own behaviour,” she said, adding that “the platforms that host such material must be held accountable, including X”.
She also said the government would expand measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise nudification apps.
“This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools designed to create non-consensual intimate images, targeting the problem at its source,” she said.
“In addition to all of these actions, we expect technology companies to introduce the steps recommended by Ofcom’s guidance on how to make platforms safer for women and girls without delay.
“If they do not, I am prepared to go further.”
Legal expert Jamie Hurworth of Payne Hicks Beach said Kendall’s remarks showed “how seriously the government are now taking this issue”, though he questioned whether police resources would be sufficient to enforce the law effectively.
The BBC has seen multiple altered images circulating on X in which women were digitally undressed and placed in sexualised scenarios without consent.
One victim said more than 100 such images had been created of her.
Ofcom’s investigation will assess whether X failed to remove illegal content promptly and whether it took “appropriate steps” to prevent UK users from accessing it.
The probe follows international backlash against Grok’s image tools, with Malaysia and Indonesia temporarily blocking access over the weekend. Ofcom said the investigation would be treated as a “matter of the highest priority”.
Responding to criticism online about why other AI platforms were not under scrutiny, Elon Musk claimed the UK government wanted “any excuse for censorship”.
Kendall rejected that assertion.
“This is not, as some would claim, about restricting freedom of speech,” she said.
“It is about tackling violence against women and girls.”
Shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez welcomed Ofcom’s investigation and backed plans to target nudification tools, but criticised Kendall’s suggestion last week that X could be blocked in the UK.
She said banning a platform would be unprecedented, arguing that despite being exploited by criminals, websites have not been shut down before.
“It is an extraordinarily serious move against a platform that can be used for good, for uncovering scandal, sparking democratic revolution, and allowing day-to-day the free exchange of ideas, including ideas we don’t like.”
