Ofcom welcomes Grok sexualised image restrictions as PM calls for UK law compliance 'immediately'

Ofcom has welcomed restrictions connected Grok, X's AI chatbot, to forestall the procreation of sexualised images.

The regulator said its probe is "ongoing" to "get answers into what went incorrect and what's being done to hole it".

It came arsenic Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said successful a societal media station that X indispensable enactment to comply with UK laws "immediately".

The institution has announced the Grok AI instrumentality connected X volition nary longer beryllium capable to undress pictures of existent people.

Sir Keir said: "Free code is not the state to interruption consent. Young women's images are not nationalist property, and their information is not up for debate.

"I invited that X is present acting to guarantee afloat compliance with UK instrumentality - it indispensable hap immediately.

"If we request to fortify existing laws further, we are prepared to bash that."

There has been mounting condemnation successful the UK and US of the chatbot's representation editing capabilities, with UK authorities ministers threatening enactment against the platform.

A days-long outcry implicit reports Grok was allowing users to manipulate images of children to sexualise them led to Ofcom launching an probe into X connected Monday.

While Ofcom welcomed reports of the caller restrictions, it said its probe would proceed arsenic it seeks "answers into what went incorrect and what's being done to hole it".

What X has said

"We person implemented technological measures to forestall the Grok relationship from allowing the editing of images of existent radical successful revealing covering specified arsenic bikinis," X said successful a connection connected Wednesday.

"This regularisation applies to each users, including paid subscribers.

"We present geoblock the quality of each users to make images of existent radical successful bikinis, underwear and akin attire via the Grok relationship and successful Grok successful X successful those jurisdictions wherever it's illegal," it added.

Geoblocking prevents entree to a diagnostic for radical based successful peculiar countries, but the alteration inactive leaves unfastened the anticipation that it could beryllium circumvented with a VPN.

The regularisation volition use to each users, including paid subscribers, portion representation editing and instauration volition beryllium constricted to premium users.

Shortly aft posting connected societal media, Sir Keir told broadcasters during a sojourn to Scotland: "Those images, sexualised images, were disgusting, perfectly disgusting, and we made it wide that we wouldn't tolerate them and that we wouldn't backmost down.

"So I americium gladsome that enactment has present been taken. But we're not going to fto this go. We volition proceed due to the fact that this is simply a values argument."

The premier curate had made akin comments the erstwhile day.

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Elon Musk had antecedently claimed Grok would garbage to nutrient amerciable contented and appeared to blasted "adversarial hacking" for the chatbot's procreation of sexualised images.

Speaking astatine Prime Minister's Questions connected Wednesday, Sir Keir suggested enactment by the institution whitethorn beryllium imminent.

The contention had seen X, which was bought by Mr Musk successful 2022 erstwhile it was called Twitter, threatened with a imaginable good oregon adjacent prohibition - thing the UK tin present bash nether new online information laws.

Mr Musk, the billionaire proprietor of Tesla and SpaceX, who has antecedently called for Sir Keir to beryllium voted retired of office, has claimed - on with Reform UK person Nigel Farage - that a prohibition would beryllium an onslaught connected escaped speech.

X had already announced successful an earlier effect to the governmental unit that representation instauration and editing would beryllium restricted to paid subscribers.

Following X's announcement that it would forestall the Grok relationship from being utilized to make intimate images of people, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall besides welcomed the move.