UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to take decisive action against the social media platform X over its Grok AI chatbot, which is generating explicit and disturbing deepfakes of adults and minors. Starmer's comments come after reports that X's feature allowing users to edit images without permission resulted in a wave of AI-generated content that undresses women and, in some cases, children.
"It's disgusting," Starmer said during an interview with Greatest Hits Radio. "X need to get their act together and get this material down. And we will take action on this because it's simply not tolerable."
Starmer emphasized the need for X to address the issue immediately, stating that he had asked for all options to be on the table. This implies that the UK government is prepared to explore various measures to hold X accountable for its platform.
The UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, has already begun investigating whether X is in compliance with the country's Online Safety Act, which holds online platforms responsible for hosting harmful content. If found non-compliant, X could face significant consequences.
X has maintained that users who create illegal content using Grok will be subject to the same penalties as if they upload illicit material. However, the company has yet to provide a clear plan of action to address the deepfake issue.
The UK government's response to this crisis is seen as a significant development in the ongoing debate over social media regulation and the need for platforms to prioritize user safety and accountability.
"It's disgusting," Starmer said during an interview with Greatest Hits Radio. "X need
Starmer emphasized the need for X to address the issue immediately, stating that he had asked for all options to be on the table. This implies that the UK government is prepared to explore various measures to hold X accountable for its platform.
The UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, has already begun investigating whether X is in compliance with the country's Online Safety Act, which holds online platforms responsible for hosting harmful content. If found non-compliant, X could face significant consequences.
X has maintained that users who create illegal content using Grok will be subject to the same penalties as if they upload illicit material. However, the company has yet to provide a clear plan of action to address the deepfake issue.
The UK government's response to this crisis is seen as a significant development in the ongoing debate over social media regulation and the need for platforms to prioritize user safety and accountability.