The UK’s Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has joined calls for Elon Musk’s X to urgently deal with its AI chatbot Grok, after it has been used to generate sexualised deepfakes of women and girls.
Over the past week, Grok has been used repeatedly by X users to undress images of women and girls, sparking a wave of concern about online safety.
“What we have been seeing online in recent days has been absolutely appalling, and unacceptable in decent society,” Kendall said.
“No one should have to go through the ordeal of seeing intimate deepfakes of themselves online. We cannot and will not allow the proliferation of these demeaning and degrading images, which are disproportionately aimed at women and girls.
“X needs to deal with this urgently. It is absolutely right that Ofcom is looking into this as a matter of urgency and it has my full backing to take any enforcement action it deems necessary.”
Kendall’s comments come after the UK’s online regulator Ofcom, asked X and xAI to explain what steps it has taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users.
Musk, the owner of X, appeared to put the onus of responsibility onto users, rather than his platform.
“Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” he posted.
Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2026
Meanwhile, the European Commission has said it is looking into complaints about Grok.
“Grok is now offering a ‘spicy mode’ showing explicit sexual content, with some output generated with childlike images,” EU digital affairs spokesperson Thomas Regnier said.
“This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling,” he said.
“This has no place in Europe.”
French authorities have confirmed they will investigate sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok, as reported by Politico.
The backlash against X and Grok have spread this week, with particular concern over sexualised depctions of underage children. One example included an image of a 12-year-old girl where her clothing had been digitally removed to show her in a bikini.
One woman whose image had been altered to remove her clothing by Grok told the BBC she felt “dehumanised and reduced into a sexual stereotype”.
On Sunday, the X Safety account said it takes action on illegal content.
“We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary,” X said.
In her statement, Liz Kendall said Ofcom has her “full backing” to take any enforcement action it deems necessary.
“Services and operators have a clear obligation to act appropriately. This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law,” she said.
“Violence against women and girls stains our society – and that is why we have also legislated to ban the creation of explicit deepfakes without consent, which are both degrading and harmful.”