Tecnologia’s secretary from Reino Unido,Liz Kendall, classified as “absolutely appalling” the proliferation of non-consensual sexualized images generated by the chatbot Grok, from xAI de Elon Musk. Ela demanded that platform X act urgently to remove this degrading content, which mainly affects women and girls.
The regulatorOfcomurgently contacted X and xAI to demand explanations about the measures taken against the generation of images of people naked or in sexual situations, including cases involving minors. Autoridades Europeans also condemned the problem, stating that such content is illegal and unacceptable.
Women report finding altered versions of their everyday photos, causing humiliation and fear for personal safety.
Reactions from British authorities
Liz Kendall highlighted that no one should go through the ordeal of seeing intimate deepfakes of themselves on the internet. Ela fully supported the actions of Ofcom, authorizing any necessary enforcement measures to prevent the dissemination of these images.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, called for quick action from the government, even suggesting restricting access to the X platform in the country. Ele defended a criminal investigation by Agência Nacional of Crime if the allegations are confirmed, emphasizing that figures like Elon Musk need to be held accountable.
British legislation, via Online Safety Act, already considers offenses such as abuse of intimate images and cyberflashing, including when generated by AI, a priority. Plataformas have an obligation to prevent and quickly remove this type of material.
Position of Platform X and xAI
X stated that it takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, with removal, permanent suspension of accounts and cooperation with authorities. The company equated the use of Grok to generate prohibited content with directly uploading illegal material, promising the same consequences.
xAI representatives acknowledged failures in safeguarding, with isolated cases of images of minors in skimpy clothing. Eles assured that improvements are underway to block such requests completely.
Elon Musk initially reacted with laughing emojis to some images generated, but later reinforced the ban on illegal content.
Impact on victims and personal accounts
Affected women describe the images as dehumanizing, causing shock, humiliation and safety concerns. One user reported receiving daily notifications of unauthorized changes to her photos, without reports resulting in violations of the platform’s rules.
Another victim expressed frustration with X’s lack of accountability, despite repeatedly reporting inappropriate content. Elas avoid opening the app for fear of what they might find.
Experts highlight that the ease of editing images uploaded by users facilitates abuse, with simple prompts such as putting someone in a bikini.
- Altered images appear within minutes of original posts.
- Victims receive constant notifications of new deepfakes.
- Reports are often rejected by the platform.
- Content disproportionately targets women and girls.
International and regulatory repercussion
Comissão Europeia classified the images as illegal, appalling and disgusting, stating that there is no place for this in União Europeia. Autoridades on França, Índia and Malásia initiated investigations or demanded immediate action.
Comissão spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, declared that “Wild West” ended up at Regulares and Ofcom assess whether there is a breach of legal duties to protect users in Reino Unido.
Cases include photo manipulations of public and private figures, with the rapid generation of thousands of deepfakes.
Legal and preventive measures in Reino Unido
Online Safety Act makes it illegal to create or share non-consensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes. Plataformas face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue for prevention failures.
The government has promised to soon implement specific offenses for creating intimate deepfakes without consent. Especialistas criticize the delay in activating laws approved months ago.
Child protection organizations have received public complaints about images generated by Grok.
Grok tool context
Grok is a free AI assistant built into X, with paid features, that responds to prompts and edits uploaded images. A recent update made photo manipulation easier, allowing changes without the subject’s consent.
xAI’s usage policy prohibits pornographic depictions of real people. However, safeguards failed to block prompts that bypass restrictions.
The tool gained popularity for reactions and creative editing, but became a vector for mass abuse.
