A formal investigation has been launched into whether Elon Musk’s social media platform X has complied with UK laws after reports its AI chatbot Grok created and shared sexualised images of children, UK media regulator Ofcom has said.
In a statement, Ofcom said it will investigate the platform to determine whether it “has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal”.
It comes after the regulator made “urgent contact” with X on January 5th to ask it to explain what steps it will take to protect UK users and set a “firm deadline” of January 9th, which it said X had met.
The decision to launch the formal investigation was made after Ofcom reviewed available evidence “as a matter of urgency”.
The regulator said: “There have been deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images of people – which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography – and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material.”