Liv McMahonand
Laura Cress,Technology reporters
Getty ImagesThe government says it will back Ofcom if the regulator blocks Elon Musk's platform X over non-compliance with UK laws, amid concerns over its Grok AI being used to make sexualised deepfake imagery.
It follows significant backlash after Grok digitally undressed people without their consent when tagged beneath images posted on X - something it says it now can only do for those who pay a monthly fee.
Downing Street said the change was "insulting" to victims of misogyny and sexual violence, while a domestic abuse charity called it "monetising abuse".
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said she expects Ofcom to use its "full legal powers" to hold xAI, Musk's firm which owns X and Grok, to account.
The BBC has approached X for comment.
Grok can still edit images on X if accessed through other areas of the platform, such as via its in-built "edit image" function, or on its separate app and website.
"I would remind xAI that the Online Safety Act Includes the power to block services from being accessed in the UK, if they refuse to comply with UK law," Kendall said.
"If Ofcom decide to use those powers they will have our full support."
The minister said she expected the regulator to provide an update on its next steps in "days, not weeks".
An Ofcom spokesperson said: "We urgently made contact on Monday and set a firm deadline of today to explain themselves, to which we have received a response."
"We're now undertaking an expedited assessment as a matter of urgency and will provide further updates shortly."
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 be accessed in the UK - should the firm refuse to comply.
These so-called business disruption measures remain largely untested.
'X needs to act'
The prime minister's official spokesperson told reporters changes to the way Grok complied with user requests to edit images on the platform showed X "can move swiftly when it wants to".
They said it was "abundantly clear that X needs to act and needs to act now".
"It is time for X to grip this issue, if another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash," they added.
The Liberal Democrats have called for access to X to be temporarily restricted in the UK while the social media site is investigated.
"Musk has thrown his toys out of the pram in protest at being held to account for the tsunami of abuse," said Professor Clare McGlynn, an expert in the legal regulation of pornography, sexual violence and online abuse.
"Instead of taking the responsible steps to ensure Grok could not be used for abusive purposes, it has withdrawn access for the vast majority of users."
And Hannah Swirsky, head of policy at the Internet Watch Foundation, said it "does not undo the harm which has been done".
"We do not believe it is good enough to simply limit access to a tool which should never have had the capacity to create the kind of imagery we have seen in recent days," she said.
The charity previously said its analysts had discovered "criminal imagery" of girls aged between 11 and 13 which "appeared to have been created" using Grok.
"Sitting and waiting for unsafe products to be abused before taking action is unacceptable," Swirsky said.
'Subscribe to unlock'
Grok is a free tool which users can tag directly in posts or replies under other users' posts to ask it for a particular response.
But the feature has also allowed people to request it to edit images - and ask it to digitally strip people of most of their clothing.
Grok has fulfilled many user requests asking it to edit images of women to show them in bikinis or little clothing - something those subject to such requests have told the BBC left them feeling "humiliated" and "dehumanised".
However as of Friday morning, Grok has told users asking it to alter images uploaded to X that "image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers".
It adds users "can subscribe to unlock these features".
Some posts on the platform seen by BBC News suggest only those with a blue tick "verified" mark - exclusive to X's paid subscriber tier - were able to successfully request image edits to Grok.
Dr Daisy Dixon, a lecturer in philosophy at Cardiff University and female X user who said she had seen an increase in people using Grok to undress her, welcomed the change but said it felt "like a sticking plaster".
"Grok needs to be totally redesigned and have built-in ethical guardrails to prevent this from ever happening again," she told the BBC.
"Elon Musk also needs to acknowledge this for what it is - yet another instance of gender-based violation."
'Ofcom must restrict X'
Charities campaigning to end violence towards women also criticised X over the move.
"To restrict access to paying subscribers is not only inadequate – it represents the monetisation of abuse," said Emma Pickering of Refuge.
She said while limiting the feature to paid X users may reduce volume, abuse had "simply been placed behind a paywall, allowing X to profit from harm".
Meanwhile Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women coalition, said "we are not convinced that X will take action to identify and prevent this, given it has dragged its heels with tackling this abuse".
Lib Dem frontbenchers Victoria Collins, Marie Goldman and Max Wilkinson have written to Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes, asking her to take action.
"If any other platform were found to be facilitating the mass generation of sexual abuse imagery at this scale, it is difficult to believe it would be permitted to continue operating uninterrupted," they wrote.
"Ofcom must restrict access to X now while an investigation takes place."
Downing Street previously said its "full support" for regulator Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including a ban.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously called images generated by Grok "disgraceful" and "disgusting".
Meanwhile the Conservatives reiterated comments made following PMQs on Wednesday by a spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch, who called deepfake images "absolutely abhorrent".
