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Downing Street says move to restrict AI tool is ‘not a solution’ after sexualised images of women and children were generated
David Maddox & Athena StavrouFriday 09 January 2026 20:23 GMT- Bookmark
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Sir Keir Starmer’s government is squaring up for a fight with Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s administration as the row over the creation of sexualised images on X escalates.
Downing Street warned that changes to Mr Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, which turned off image generation for all but paid subscribers after it was used to remove clothing from children, were “insulting” to victims of misogyny and sexual violence and had made creating deepfakes a “premium service”.
The Grok tool began replying to image requests by indicating the service is only available to “paying subscribers” on Friday, following global backlash over reports it has been used to generate sexualised images of women and children.
Sir Keir indicated that the social media platform could be completely blocked in the UK after “unlawful” and “disgusting” images were generated.
The regulator Ofcom said it was carrying out an “expedited assessment” of the response it had received after contacting X and Grok’s creator xAI about fake images following calls for it to take urgent action.
open image in galleryDowning Street has criticised X’s move to only allow paying subscribers to use its AI tool (PA)Earlier, the prime minister’s spokesperson criticised changes to limit the use of Grok to paying users.
The spokesperson said: “That move… that simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service.
“It’s not a solution. In fact, it’s insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual violence. What it does prove is that X can move swiftly when it wants to do so.”
Ramping up the pressure for action in a broadcast interview on Friday afternoon, tech secretary Liz Kendall demanded that Ofcom “uses the full powers of the law” against the platform.
She said: “I think the images being produced are despicable and abhorrent, and sexualising images of children is one of the worst crimes imaginable. And I think it is insulting to say that you can still access this service if you pay for it. So, Ofcom should use the full powers of the law that parliament has given it.
open image in galleryJD Vance has been pushed for US trade deals with Britain to include guarantees of ‘free speech’ (Reuters)“X needs to get a grip and get this material down. And I would remind them that in the Online Safety Act, there are backstop powers to block access to services if they refuse to comply with the law for people in the UK. And if Ofcom decides to use those powers, they would have the full backing of the government.”
She added: “The government, and more importantly the public, will expect to see next steps from Ofcom in days, not weeks. It is absolutely essential that they abide by the law and get those images down.”
The intervention comes after an 18-month-long war of words between Mr Musk and Sir Keir, with the X owner using his platform to attack the prime minister and level insults at him, including suggesting he is “complicit in crimes”, is “tyrannical” and a “national embarrassment”.
Mr Musk has also openly supported far-right activist Tommy Robinson, suggesting that when he was in jail, most recently for contempt of court, he was a political prisoner, and he has pursued the prime minister on the issue of the Asian grooming gangs.
open image in galleryElon Musk’s AI ‘Grok’ tool began replying to image requests by indicating the service is only available to ‘paying subscribers’ on Friday (AFP/Getty)The row has widened to include the Trump administration, with Vice-President JD Vance among others, highly critical of the Online Safety Act, which he said he regarded as an attack on the US economy and free speech.
Recently, a UK activist for online safety, Imran Ahmed, the British founder and CEO of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), was refused an entry visa into the US. And there have also been rows over the number of arrests in the UK for the misuse of social media.
The Independent previously revealed that Mr Vance was pushing for the US’s trade deal with the UK to include guarantees on free speech and rolling back online safety laws.
The tensions on free speech now seem set to resurface over Mr Musk’s X.
open image in galleryThe prime minister’s spokesperson said changes to limit usage of the AI image tool to paying users are ‘not a solution’ (PA)Leading domestic abuse charity Refuge warned that the move to block all but Grok subscribers from accessing image generation represented the “monetisation of abuse” and allowed X to “profit from harm”.
“While limiting AI image generation to paid users may marginally reduce volume and improve traceability, the abuse has not been stopped,” Emma Pickering, head of technology-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment at Refuge, said.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) also confirmed the tool had been used to create “criminal imagery of children aged between 11 and 13”.
An Ofcom spokesman 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.”
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