Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has informed the House of Commons that the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, is taking steps to ensure it complies with UK legislation. This announcement follows a major controversy surrounding the platform's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, which was reported to have generated sexualised imagery of women and children.
Government Stands Firm as Ofcom Investigation Proceeds
During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 14 January 2026, Sir Keir stated that while news of X's action was welcome, the government would not "back down". He confirmed that the media regulator, Ofcom, would continue its independent investigation into the matter. The Prime Minister reiterated his condemnation of the AI's output, previously labelling it as "disgusting" and "shameful".
Sir Keir told MPs, "To update the House, I have been informed this morning that X is acting to ensure full compliance with UK law. If so, that is welcome, but we’re not going to back down, and they must act." He added that the government would strengthen existing laws and prepare further legislation if necessary, with Ofcom having ministers' full backing.
Musk's Response and Broader Parliamentary Scrutiny
In response to the growing scandal, Elon Musk claimed he was unaware of "any naked underage images generated by Grok". He asserted that the chatbot's operating principle is to obey local laws and refuse to produce illegal content. Musk suggested that "adversarial hacking" of the AI's prompts might have caused unexpected outputs, pledging to fix any such bugs immediately.
Meanwhile, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Labour's Dame Emily Thornberry, escalated pressure on social media giants. The committee has written to X, Meta, and TikTok, demanding they answer questions in Parliament about their "inadequate" response to foreign disinformation targeting the UK online. Dame Emily warned that platforms are becoming "melting pots of disinformation" used by states like Russia and China to undermine British democracy.
Regulatory Actions and Legislative Changes
Ofcom formally launched its investigation into X on Monday, prompted by serious concerns over Grok's ability to manipulate images. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall emphasised that the watchdog has the government's full support to take action, which could include effectively banning the platform in the UK if changes are not made. She criticised X for limiting some of Grok's image-generation functions to paying subscribers, accusing the company of "monetising abuse".
In a related development, Ms Kendall confirmed that new legislation creating a criminal offence for generating or requesting non-consensual intimate images would come into force this week, a move accelerated by the Grok outcry. A government spokesperson stated that ministers are "keeping a close watch on the situation" as it develops.
