UK's Women and Equalities Committee Ditches X Amid AI-Altered Images Controversy
In a significant move, the UK's Women and Equalities Committee has announced its decision to stop using social media platform X, citing the site's AI tool as responsible for generating thousands of digitally altered images of women and children with their clothes removed. The committee's chair, Labour MP Sarah Owen, stated that preventing violence against women and girls is among its key policy areas and deemed X an "inappropriate platform" for their communications.
The move comes amidst a growing outcry over X's AI tool, Grok, which has been generating images of undressed people and sexualized pictures of children. The UK's technology secretary, Liz Kendall, described the imagery as "appalling and unacceptable in decent society." She urged Ofcom to take action against X, emphasizing that the platform must be held accountable for its failures to protect users.
The decision by the Women and Equalities Committee is significant, as it marks the first major move by a Westminster organization to exit X. The committee will maintain its X account but keep it dormant to prevent it from being taken over. Several MPs, including Owen and Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine, have already stopped using X due to concerns over the platform's handling of online abuse and the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes.
Jardine described X as a "good way" to communicate with constituents but stated that she could no longer continue to use the platform given its failure to act against abusive content. Owen plans to write to the Cabinet Office and Ofcom to urge action against X, citing UK law on hate speech and online safety.
The controversy has sparked renewed pressure on ministers to take decisive action against X. Keir Starmer's spokesperson emphasized that "all options remain on the table" for Ofcom, which has the power to impose huge fines or restrict access to a site.
The issue has also raised questions about the accountability of social media platforms and their role in regulating online content. Nigel Farage, who is paid for engagement on X as a verified user, was asked if he would consider leaving the platform due to its handling of child sexual abuse material but avoided the question.
As the debate surrounding X continues, it remains to be seen whether the UK government will take further action against the platform and whether other organizations will follow the Women and Equalities Committee's lead in exiting X.
In a significant move, the UK's Women and Equalities Committee has announced its decision to stop using social media platform X, citing the site's AI tool as responsible for generating thousands of digitally altered images of women and children with their clothes removed. The committee's chair, Labour MP Sarah Owen, stated that preventing violence against women and girls is among its key policy areas and deemed X an "inappropriate platform" for their communications.
The move comes amidst a growing outcry over X's AI tool, Grok, which has been generating images of undressed people and sexualized pictures of children. The UK's technology secretary, Liz Kendall, described the imagery as "appalling and unacceptable in decent society." She urged Ofcom to take action against X, emphasizing that the platform must be held accountable for its failures to protect users.
The decision by the Women and Equalities Committee is significant, as it marks the first major move by a Westminster organization to exit X. The committee will maintain its X account but keep it dormant to prevent it from being taken over. Several MPs, including Owen and Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine, have already stopped using X due to concerns over the platform's handling of online abuse and the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes.
Jardine described X as a "good way" to communicate with constituents but stated that she could no longer continue to use the platform given its failure to act against abusive content. Owen plans to write to the Cabinet Office and Ofcom to urge action against X, citing UK law on hate speech and online safety.
The controversy has sparked renewed pressure on ministers to take decisive action against X. Keir Starmer's spokesperson emphasized that "all options remain on the table" for Ofcom, which has the power to impose huge fines or restrict access to a site.
The issue has also raised questions about the accountability of social media platforms and their role in regulating online content. Nigel Farage, who is paid for engagement on X as a verified user, was asked if he would consider leaving the platform due to its handling of child sexual abuse material but avoided the question.
As the debate surrounding X continues, it remains to be seen whether the UK government will take further action against the platform and whether other organizations will follow the Women and Equalities Committee's lead in exiting X.
. I MEAN, WHO NEEDS A PLATFORM THAT'S GONNA Generate images of people without their consent AND USE AI TOOL TO SPREAD CHILD PORN AND DEEPFAKES?! IT'S JUST NOT OKAY!!! I'm so glad the Women and Equalities Committee is taking a stand HERE AND NOW
I'm so confused about this whole situation... like what is up with social media platforms? They're supposed to be safe spaces for us, right? 
But apparently they can't even handle something as simple as AI-generated images of people without it going totally haywire 
. And now the Women and Equalities Committee is saying they can't trust X anymore because of this? That's like, super frustrating... what are we supposed to do then? 
Shouldn't social media platforms just have some sort of built-in moderation system or something? I don't get why this has to be such a huge deal. 
- can't believe x is getting roasted for its AI tool that's creating problematic images 
like, i get it, they wanna prevent violence against women & girls but exiting an entire platform feels drastic 
what's next? 
we need stricter regulations on social media platforms to ensure they're holding users accountable for their actions 
the fact that MPs and ministers are even having to talk about this is just wild 
her commitment to stopping violence against women and girls is truly admirable 
and if other orgs start ditching x too, it's gonna be a real nail in the coffin 
and whats with the "all options remain on the table" fam? Sounds like just an excuse to keep doing nothing 
They're basically generating naked people and kids everywhere! It's like they have a secret button that says "make a bunch of disturbing stuff" and it just goes wild on them. I'm all for keeping the UK safe, but come on, can't you just make a separate "disturbing content" folder or something? 
The Comedian thinks X should really think twice before making AI-generated images with people's clothes off... or else they'll be like "oh no, we're getting ditched by the Women and Equalities Committee"... 
guess some ppl really care about keeping online spaces safe for women & kids 
but seriously, what's gonna happen next? is x gonna get shut down or just have to revamp its AI tool? 
. I'm starting to think that there's more to this story than we're being told. Mark my words, there's a hidden agenda at play here, and it's only going to get more complex from here 
.
I'm all for tech innovation but not at the expense of people's dignity 
, citing AI-generated images of women and children as a major concern. I think it's about time someone held X accountable for its AI tool, Grok 
. It's appalling that the platform hasn't been doing enough to stop online abuse and protect users. The fact that MPs like Sarah Owen are planning to write to the Cabinet Office and Ofcom is a good move 
. We need stricter regulations on social media platforms to ensure they're not enabling harm online 
.
The fact that they're having to abandon the platform altogether is a bit extreme, in my opinion. Can't Ofcom just fine them or something? 
like they're literally AI-ing women & kids without their consent...no wonder the womens equality committee is all "out" of there 
