Musk says outrage over X’s Grok service is ‘an excuse for censorship’

Elon Musk has said that his social media site

Ofcom says it is conducting an urgent assessment of X in response, with the support of Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.

But the chairs of parliament’s technology and media committees have said they are concerned that “gaps” in the Online Security Act could hinder the media regulator’s ability to deal with the case.

Axe has now limited the use of the AI ​​imaging function to those who pay a monthly fee, with Downing Street labelling the change “disrespectful” to victims of sexual violence.

The BBC has seen several examples of free AI tools stripping women and putting them in sexual situations without their consent.

Kendall said on Friday that he expected to receive an update from Ofcom within a few days and that the government would also fully support the decision to block X in the UK.

Musk reposted several messages on the site overnight, criticising the government’s rebuke of Groke— one of which showed AI-generated images of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a bikini.

“They just want to suppress freedom of expression,” Musk wrote.

the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children,

Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, told BBC NewsHour on Friday that Groke had made sexually explicit photos of her as a child.

The conservative influencer said that, despite telling Grok that she did not consent to sexualised images, her image was “stripped” so that she appeared “basically naked and bent over.”

St Clair accused the social media site of “not doing enough” to deal with illegal content, including child sexual abuse imagery, while filing a lawsuit against Musk for sole custody of their child in 2025.

“This can be stopped by just messaging an engineer,” he said.

As of Friday morning, Grok was telling users to change images uploaded to

An Ofcom spokesperson said on Friday: “We immediately contacted X on Monday and set a deadline of today to explain our position, to which we have received a response.”

We are urgently conducting a rapid assessment and will provide further updates soon.

Ofcom’s powers under the Online Safety Act include being able to seek a court order to prevent third parties from helping X raise money or entering the UK if the firm refuses to comply.

But Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the innovation and technology committee, said she was “concerned and confused” about how the matter “is actually being addressed” and has written to Ofcom and Kendal for clarification.

Dame Chee said it was “unclear” under the Online Safety Act whether the creation of such images using AI was illegal, as was the responsibility of social media sites for what is shared on their platforms.

“This Act should make something really harmful to so many people clearly illegal, and the responsibility for X should be clear,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, similarly said she had “real fears that there is a gap in regulation”.

“There are doubts about whether the Online Safety Act actually has the power to regulate the functionality – meaning the ability of generative AI to discredit someone,” he told BBC Breakfast.

The use of Grok to generate non-consensual sexual images has been condemned by politicians on all sides:

• Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer referred to it as “disgraceful” and “disgusting”.

• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was “appalling in every way” and that X “needs to go further” than the changes made to Grok on Friday, but he said banning the platform would be an attack on free speech.

• The Liberal Democrats called for access to X to be temporarily restricted in the UK while the social media site was investigated.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he agreed with Starmer that the material was “absolutely disgusting.”

“This is once again an example of social media not showing social responsibility,” Albanese said. He said Australia’s Digital Security Commissioner is monitoring the situation.

“Australians and, indeed, global citizens deserve better.”

Meanwhile, Grok was temporarily suspended in Indonesia on Saturday. The country’s digital minister said, “Sexual deepfakes without consent [were] ‘serious violations of human rights, dignity and security of citizens in the digital sphere.'”