UK regulators have launched a formal probe into Elon Musk’s social media platform X.
This is amid a mounting international backlash over sexually explicit images generated by its artificial intelligence tool, Grok.
The investigation centres on whether X, a subsidiary of xAI, violated the UK’s Online Safety Act.
A move that could expose the platform to fines or restrictions on its services. X declined to comment on the probe but said it actively removes illegal content and suspends accounts in breach of its policies.
The scrutiny comes as governments worldwide, including France, India, and Indonesia, have condemned Grok for producing sexualized images of individuals without their consent. Indonesia temporarily blocked access to the AI tool, and Malaysia followed suit over the weekend.
What they are saying
While the United States and Japan remain X’s largest markets by active users, regulators in these countries have not yet taken formal action.
The Internet Watch Foundation, tasked by the UK government to identify child sexual abuse material, reported finding criminal images of children allegedly generated by Grok.
‘’We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
“Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer nyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content. For more information on our policies, please refer to our help pages for our full X Rules and range of enforcement options”, according to the foundation.
Meanwhile, the European Union ordered X to preserve all internal documents related to Grok until the end of the year. French authorities have condemned the AI tool for generating “clearly illegal” sexual content without consent, warning that it may violate the Digital Services Act, which obliges major platforms to mitigate the spread of unlawful content.
Grok’s design includes fewer safeguards than mainstream AI tools. A recent feature allows users to digitally “undress” images, producing sexualized depictions of individuals, including minors, raising serious legal and ethical concerns. Under UK law, it is illegal to possess or share sexual images of children or intimate content of adults without consent—including content generated by artificial intelligence.
What you should know
On X, users interact with Grok by tagging its account in posts, prompting the chatbot to generate text and images that appear on the social media platform.
Following an influx of requests to produce explicit material, xAI restricted the image-generation feature to paid users on X, though it remained free on the standalone Grok app. Musk also issued a warning stating that users producing illegal content would “suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content” directly.
The controversy highlights the tension between AI innovation and regulatory oversight. Grok has become a flashpoint in debates over how social media platforms must balance technological advancement with user safety, ethical standards, and compliance with national and international laws.
Nairametrics reported that, based on several complaints, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, had restricted Grok’s image-generation feature for most users on the X platform.
