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Musk calls backlash against AI deepfake images 'justification for censorship'
2026-01-10 17:39:04 / BOTA
Elon Musk has said the UK government is “looking for any excuse for censorship”, amid a growing backlash over deepfake sexual images produced by his social media platform X’s artificial intelligence tool. The statement comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier this week that X needed to “get its act together” with its AI chatbot, Grok, and that he had asked media regulator Ofcom to consider “all options”.
The international backlash has been swift. Indonesia temporarily blocked the chatbot on Saturday, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool. It comes after criticism from governments and regulators in Europe and Asia, with some of them opening investigations into sexualized content. More worrying is a report by the Internet Watch Foundation, which reported earlier this week that criminals have used Grok to create child sexual abuse images.
On Friday, X appeared to have changed Grok’s settings, with a message displayed by the chatbot saying that image editing was limited to paid subscribers — changes that Downing Street described as “insulting.” Appearing defiant, Musk later shared a post by an X user criticizing the Labour government for its apparent focus on his platform, highlighting claims that other AI programs create non-sexual images of women in bikinis. “They want any excuse for censorship,” the tech billionaire said. He has previously said on X that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded it themselves.
Criticism of X has focused on the manipulation of photos of real women to remove their clothes, as well as reports of Grok producing child abuse images. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has said she would support regulator Ofcom if X were to be blocked if it did not comply with UK law, saying: “The sexual manipulation of images of women and children is disgusting and abhorrent.” Ms Kendall added that it was “completely unacceptable that Grok would allow this if you were willing to pay for it” and expected an update on Ofcom’s next steps “within days, not weeks”.
Ofcom is currently undertaking an “expedited assessment” of the situation after making “urgent contact” with X over the reports. The media regulator has powers under the Online Safety Act to fine businesses up to £18m, or 10% of global turnover, as well as taking criminal action. It can also order payment providers, advertisers and internet service providers to stop doing business with a site, effectively banning them, although this would require agreement from the courts.
Meanwhile, following the temporary lockdown in Indonesia, the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Meutya Hafid, said the government “views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of the human rights, dignity and safety of citizens in the digital space.” The country has strict rules that prohibit the distribution of online content deemed obscene.
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