Regarding the continued allowance by American entrepreneur Musk's AI company xAI's chatbot 'Grok' for users to generate 'deepfake' pornographic content, the UK government issued a statement on the 9th, urging the UK communication regulator to act swiftly and warning that if xAI refuses to comply with UK law, its services risk being blocked in the UK.
According to AFP, the AI tool 'Grok' is facing increasing international backlash for allowing users—via its so-called 'spicy mode' settings—to generate deepfake pornographic images of women and minors.
The European Commission recently announced that it is reviewing complaints about this tool 'very seriously,' while the UK's media regulator, Ofcom, has also stated it is investigating both the X platform and xAI, the developer of Grok.
Under the UK's Online Safety Act, which came into effect in July last year, any website, social media, or video-sharing platform hosting potentially harmful content must implement strict age verification through tools such as facial image or credit card checks.
The legislation also stipulates that media and such platforms that produce or share unauthorized intimate images or child sexual abuse material—including AI-generated deepfake pornography—are acting illegally.
On the 2nd, Grok's developer stated that it had discovered flaws in its AI tool, describing this as a 'safety oversight,' and that it was making 'urgent' efforts to fix the issue.