The government has welcomed new safety measures introduced by Elon Musk’s X to curb abuse linked to its Grok AI tool, as the UK’s online safety regulator presses ahead with a formal investigation into the platform.
Tech secretary Liz Kendall said she “welcomed” X’s move to restrict Grok’s image generation capabilities, but stressed that regulators must still establish “the facts… fully and robustly” through Ofcom’s ongoing inquiry.
“Our Online Safety Act is and always has been about keeping people safe on social media, especially children, and it has given us the tools to hold X to account in recent days”, Kendall added.
“I shall not rest until all social media platforms meet their legal duties and provide a service that is safe and age-appropriate for all users”.
Her comments came as X confirmed it has implemented technical measures to prevent the problematic chatbot from being used to create explicit content featuring real people, including restrictions on editing images of individuals in revealing clothing and tighter controls limiting image generation to paid subscribers.
The company also said it had geoblocked some functions in jurisdictions where the content is illegal.
Ofcom described the changes as “a welcome development”, but said they did not change the regulator’s stance.
“Our formal investigation remains strong”, an Ofcom spokesperson announced. “We are working round the clock to get answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it”.
Online Safety Act tested
The investigation marks one of the most high-profile tests yet of the UK’s Online Safety Act, which came into force less than a year ago, and gives Ofcom the power to fine firms up to £18m, or 10 per cent of global turnover.
Ofcom opened the probe after reports that Grok had been used to generate non-consensual images and sexualised images of children, content that could amount to illegal material under UK laws.
The regulation made urgent contact with X on 5 January, demanded answers within four days, and launched a formal investigation on 12 January after assessing the firm’s response.
Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes said the case illustrated the growing challenge posed by AI tools embedded within social platforms.
“Platforms do not need to wait for the outcome of our investigation to take additional steps”, she wrote in a letter to MPs. “We are clear that protecting women and children online is not optional”.
Downing Street has backed the regulator’s action, calling the content linked to Grok “completely unacceptable”, while reiterating that “all options remain on the table” should X be found in breach of its legal duties.
X said it has “zero tolerance” for child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity, and insisted it is working with regulators and law enforcement as the investigation continues.