Sir Keir Starmer has threatened Elon Musk over the \u201cabsolutely disgusting\u201d actions of X as Ofcom<\/a> investigates the social media platform over sexualised images made by its AI chatbot Grok<\/a>.<\/p>\n Addressing a meeting of backbenchers at the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening, the prime minister warned: \u201cIf X cannot control Grok, we will \u2013 and we\u2019ll do it fast because if you profit from harm and abuse, you lose the right to self-regulate.\u201d<\/p>\n His threats come after the UK\u2019s communications regulator announced that it has launched a formal investigation into whether X has complied with British laws over reports that Grok created and shared sexualised images of children.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, technology secretary Liz Kendall<\/a> has announced that creating or requesting to create non-consensual intimate images will become a criminal offence this week, after legislation on it was passed last year.<\/p>\n In a statement given in the Commons on Monday evening, Ms Kendall labelled AI-generated images of women<\/a> \u201ctied up and gagged, with bruises, covered in blood and much, much more\u201d as being \u201cweapons of abuse\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n The government<\/a> will also criminalise apps that allow users to create fake nude images of people, she pledged.<\/p>\n <\/a>Starmer warns Musk: ‘If X cannot control Grok, we will’<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer told Labour MPs that if Elon Musk\u2019s social media site X cannot control its AI chatbot Grok, \u201cwe will\u201d.<\/p>\n Addressing a meeting of backbenchers at the Parliamentary Labour Party, he said: \u201cThe actions of Grok and X are absolutely disgusting and shameful.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting their abusive users, rather than the women and children who are being abused shows a total distortion of priorities.<\/p>\n \u201cSo let me be crystal clear, we won\u2019t stand for it, because no matter how unstable or complex the world becomes, this Government will be guided by its values. We\u2019ll stand up for the vulnerable against the powerful.<\/p>\n \u201cIf X cannot control Grok, we will \u2013 and we\u2019ll do it fast because if you profit from harm and abuse, you lose the right to self regulate.\u201d<\/p>\n Tara Cobham12 January 2026 19:29<\/p>\n <\/a>Full story: Sexualised images created by Grok \u2018weapons of abuse\u2019, Kendall says<\/p>\n Sexualised images created by AI chatbot Grok are \u201cweapons of abuse\u201d, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall<\/a> has said, as she told MPs<\/a> that creating non-consensual intimate images will become a criminal offence from this week.<\/p>\n It comes as media watchdog Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether Elon Musk\u2019s social media platform X has breached UK law over reports that Grok was used to create and share sexualised images of children.<\/p>\n Ms Kendall labelled AI-generated images of women \u201ctied up and gagged, with bruises, covered in blood and much, much more\u201d as being \u201cweapons of abuse\u201d.<\/p>\n Read the full story here:<\/strong><\/p>\n Tara Cobham12 January 2026 19:20<\/p>\n <\/a>Watch: Making non-consensual sexualised images will be made a criminal offence, says Liz KendallMaking non-consensual sexualised images will be made a criminal offence, says Liz Kendall<\/p>\n Tara Cobham12 January 2026 19:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Tories accuses government of ‘appendage swinging’ over potential X ban<\/p>\n The Conservatives accused the government of \u201cappendage swinging\u201d over a potential ban of X after its AI chatbot Grok allowing the creation of non-consensual intimate images.<\/p>\n Shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez welcomed action taken by Ofcom, and said her party supported the Government on nudification tools.<\/p>\n However she accused the government of \u201csoft back peddling\u201d over a purported ban, in part of her speech that was met with cries of \u201cshame\u201d.<\/p>\n Ms Lopez said: \u201cThe government\u2019s appendage swinging over the weekend was extremely serious. Ministers mooted as an urgent remedy the banning of a site of 21 million monthly users in this country, despite another minister guffawing that banning X was conspiracy theory number 3627.\u201d<\/p>\n She said despite the internet being used by criminals, websites have not been banned before. She continued: \u201cIt is an extraordinarily serious move against a platform that can be used for good, for uncovering scandal, sparking democratic revolution, and allow day-to-day the free exchange of ideas, including ideas we don\u2019t like.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms Lopez said taking action on X could lead to regulators not pursuing other abhorrent and dangerous crimes. She added: \u201c(Ms Kendall) has said the Government is as determined to ensure women and girls are safe online as we are to ensure that they are safe in the real world.<\/p>\n \u201cTo this end, will she be ensuring that the government enforces against itself for its failure to advance the rape gang inquiry. Its failure to stop puberty-blocking trials, its failure to implement single-sex spaces, its inability to deport illegal migrants who have committed sex offences.\u201d<\/p>\n Tara Cobham12 January 2026 18:40<\/p>\n <\/a>Comment: If women quit X because of Grok\u2019s deepfake nudes, the predators win \u2013 so I\u2019m staying<\/p>\n As women abandon X because of its use to generate non-consensual sexual imagery, the danger is not just what happens to those who stay, but what happens when abusers are left alone on the platform, says Olivia Petter.<\/a><\/p>\n Harriette Boucher12 January 2026 18:20<\/p>\n <\/a>‘Offering premium service that strips women and girls is new low for X and Musk,’ baroness says<\/p>\n Baroness Kidron has said that \u201coffering a premium service that strips women and girls to bikinis is a new low for X and (Elon) Musk\u201d.<\/p>\n The independent crossbench peer, who founded the non-governmental organisation 5Rights which looks at the impact of technology on children, continued: \u201cIt is time to introduce minimum standards of terms of service in the UK that includes meeting our standards and values as set out in online safety and data legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cWinning a race or playing in the garden and posting an image, ending up as child sexual abuse, violence abuse is an affront.<\/p>\n \u201cI have called on government to either use Online Safety Act or fill a gap if they cannot. We need enforcement to move fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Lady Kidron also said: \u201cThere is no reason to invent a technical way to strip women. That is abhorrent.\u201d<\/p>\n Lady Kidron sat in a side gallery to watch Technology Secretary Liz Kendall make a statement on \u201cnon-consensual sexual deepfakes\u201d in the Commons.<\/p>\n Tara Cobham12 January 2026 17:44<\/p>\n <\/a>Ofcom must reach a solution quickly, says law professor<\/p>\n A leading expert on violence against women and girls has said that while Ofcom\u2019s investigation is \u201cvery welcome\u201d, it is vital that it reaches a quick solution so X\u2019s Grok can no longer produce this material. <\/p>\n Speaking to The Independent, Durham University law professor Clare McGlynn said: \u201cI think some of that discussion about the ban is in some ways a distraction. What Ofcom and the government need to focus on is just trying to get the changes that are needed on the ground without trying to wage war on the platform.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing is the changes on the ground. The arguments, (with) Elon Musk throwing his toys out of the pram and talking about free speech, this whole experience, is women’s speech being hindered. I find it really ironic that Musk talks about him being the protector of free speech when he’s the one who has been shutting it down.\u201d <\/p>\n Harriette Boucher12 January 2026 17:42<\/p>\n <\/a>Government to criminalise apps that allow users to create nude fake images of people, Kendall says<\/p>\n The government will criminalise apps which allow users to create nude fake images of people, Liz Kendall told the Commons.<\/p>\n The technology secretary said: \u201cI can today confirm that we will build on all the measures I have already outlined and legislate in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, to criminalise nudification apps.<\/p>\n \u201cThis new criminal offence will make it make it illegal for companies to supply tools designed to create non-consensual internet images, targeting the problem at its source.\u201d<\/p>\n She later said that the government\u2019s actions were \u201cnot as some would claim about restricting freedom of speech\u201d, adding: \u201cIt is about tackling violence against women and girls, it\u2019s about upholding basic British values of decency and respect and ensuring the standards we expect offline are upheld online, and it is about exercising our sovereign power and responsibility to uphold the laws of this land.\u201d<\/p>\n The government \u201cwill of course keep our participation on X under review\u201d, Ms Kendall told MPs.<\/p>\n However, she also appeared to suggest ministers saw the social media site as a valuable communication tool, adding: \u201cI think it\u2019s also worth bearing in mind, with 19 million people on X in this country, and more than a quarter of them saying that they use it as their primary source of news, that our views and often simply the facts, need to be heard wherever possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Tara Cobham12 January 2026 17:26<\/p>\n![\"Baroness](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/40dedcba8feea620358ba30f28c27623Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzQ3NzY2NjM3-2.69067752.jpg\")
Baroness Kidron has said that \u2018offering a premium service that strips women and girls to bikinis is a new low for X and (Elon) Musk\u2019 (PA Archive)<\/p>\n( )<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-12-at-17-24-11.png\")
The government will criminalise apps which allow users to create nude fake images of people, Liz Kendall told the Commons (parliamentlive.tv)<\/p>\n
![\"Ofcom\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/064e4e648e1872ce6179ad5e8cd44d5cY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzY4MzIzNjM3-2.81058825.jpg\")
Ofcom\u2019s investigation into Elon Musk\u2019s Grok AI must not take \u2018months and months\u2019, the technology secretary has warned (PA Wire)<\/p>\n