Ofcom has made “urgent contact” with Elon Musk’s company xAI after reports emerged that its AI tool, Grok, can be used to create sexualised images of children and digitally undress women.
A spokesperson for the regulator confirmed it is also examining claims that Grok has been generating “undressed images” of individuals. The BBC has seen multiple examples on social media platform X where users asked the chatbot to manipulate real photos to make women appear in bikinis without their consent, or place them in sexualised scenarios.
X has not responded to a request for comment. However, on Sunday the platform issued a warning advising users not to use Grok to produce illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.
Elon Musk also posted that anyone who prompts the AI to generate illegal material would face “the same consequences” as if they had uploaded such content themselves.
xAI’s own acceptable use policy bans “depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner”. Despite this, users have reportedly continued to use Grok to digitally undress people without their knowledge or consent.
The European Commission, the EU’s enforcement arm, said on Monday it was “seriously looking into this matter”, while authorities in France, Malaysia and India are also said to be assessing the situation.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation told the BBC it has received reports from members of the public concerning images generated by Grok on X. However, it added that so far it has not identified any images that meet the UK’s legal threshold for child sexual abuse imagery.
