UK Prime Minister Vows to Regulate Elon Musk's X Platform Over Grok AI's Use of Sexualized Images
In a strongly worded statement, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated that he is willing to consider banning Elon Musk's X platform in Britain over its use of artificial intelligence tool Grok to generate sexually altered images of people without their consent. The move comes as regulators across the globe scrutinize Grok's image editing tool, which has been used to create digitally altered photos of women and minors.
Starmer condemned the platform's actions, stating that the behavior is "disgraceful" and "not to be tolerated." He added that he wants all options on the table, including a potential ban. A source in Starmer's office reiterated that nothing is off the table when it comes to regulating X in Britain.
The UK government has called out Musk's platform for limiting access to Grok's image editing tool to paying users only, claiming that this measure does not go far enough to address concerns over the use of AI-generated images. The U.K. Online Safety Act makes sharing intimate images without consent a criminal offense, and social media companies are required to proactively remove such content.
Ofcom, Britain's independent media regulator, has also expressed concern over Grok's feature and said it will investigate potential compliance issues with X and xAI. The move comes as Musk's platform faces scrutiny from governments worldwide, including the European Union and the U.S. Congress, over its use of AI-generated images.
US lawmakers have taken action against X, with Republican Senator Ted Cruz saying that the platform's recent posts are "unacceptable" and a clear violation of his legislation. Meanwhile, US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna threatened to sanction the UK government if Starmer moves to ban X in Britain.
As the debate over regulation continues, it remains to be seen whether Musk's platform will face significant changes or consequences in the coming weeks.
In a strongly worded statement, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated that he is willing to consider banning Elon Musk's X platform in Britain over its use of artificial intelligence tool Grok to generate sexually altered images of people without their consent. The move comes as regulators across the globe scrutinize Grok's image editing tool, which has been used to create digitally altered photos of women and minors.
Starmer condemned the platform's actions, stating that the behavior is "disgraceful" and "not to be tolerated." He added that he wants all options on the table, including a potential ban. A source in Starmer's office reiterated that nothing is off the table when it comes to regulating X in Britain.
The UK government has called out Musk's platform for limiting access to Grok's image editing tool to paying users only, claiming that this measure does not go far enough to address concerns over the use of AI-generated images. The U.K. Online Safety Act makes sharing intimate images without consent a criminal offense, and social media companies are required to proactively remove such content.
Ofcom, Britain's independent media regulator, has also expressed concern over Grok's feature and said it will investigate potential compliance issues with X and xAI. The move comes as Musk's platform faces scrutiny from governments worldwide, including the European Union and the U.S. Congress, over its use of AI-generated images.
US lawmakers have taken action against X, with Republican Senator Ted Cruz saying that the platform's recent posts are "unacceptable" and a clear violation of his legislation. Meanwhile, US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna threatened to sanction the UK government if Starmer moves to ban X in Britain.
As the debate over regulation continues, it remains to be seen whether Musk's platform will face significant changes or consequences in the coming weeks.
this whole thing got me thinking, what does it say about our society that we're so used to seeing AI-generated content that we're not even shocked by it anymore? like, we're so desensitized to the idea of someone's image being manipulated without their consent 
. and meanwhile, we're still having a debate about whether or not to regulate this platform... doesn't that just reveal how far we've slipped away from human values already? 
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and I'm so hyped! They have this crazy vegan "cheese" sauce that's literally changed my life 
. Anyway, back to this X platform thing... can we talk about AI-generated art for a sec? Like, is it really that bad if people want to create and share these images? Shouldn't there be some kind of middle ground between regulation and free expression? 
[AI-generated image of a woman with her clothes ripped off and a red "X" marked through her private parts] 
[AI-generated image of a cartoon man with a speech bubble saying "Calm down, folks!"]
anyway back to this Grok AI thingy what's the deal with those digitally altered images? sounds super sketchy 
I'm worried that the lack of regulations around AI-generated images on platforms like X could lead to a slippery slope where people feel like they can get away with exploiting others for their own gain. The fact that Musk's platform is limiting access to Grok's tool and still being called out for not doing enough suggests that more needs to be done to hold these companies accountable.
this is getting out of hand - anyone else think its unfair that tech giants like Elon get a free pass for their AI mistakes? 
. The U.K. Online Safety Act should be taken seriously, and social media companies need to take responsibility for hosting such content.
. It's high time someone held him accountable for his actions 
. A ban on the platform in Britain might be a bit extreme, but some kind of regulation needs to happen ASAP 
. We can't just sit back and let AI-generated images run amok 
this is just another example of how tech giants think they're above the law 
also, can we talk about how ridiculous it is that a rep from Starmer's office is saying "nothing is off the table" when it comes to banning X? what does that even mean?! are they gonna ban all social media platforms or just X alone? 
they cant just ban x because of Grok's feature... its like taking out a whole city for one naughty AI tool... 
starmer is just trying to get attention, it wont work tho... musk will just move his platform to some other country where they are all chill about this stuff... and btw why are we making such a big deal over sexy pics anyway? its not like people are being harmed or something... its just the usual tech drama 
... but at the same time, isn't that what we're trying to prevent in school - cyberbullying and stuff? 
But at the same time, if it's causing a problem and people are getting affected by those images, then yeah maybe something needs to be done 
I guess only time will tell what happens next