{"id":693918,"date":"2026-01-13T21:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T21:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/693918\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T21:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T21:00:12","slug":"13-01-2026-the-nen-north-edinburgh-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/693918\/","title":{"rendered":"13\/01\/2026 \u2013 The NEN \u2013 North Edinburgh News"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEMENT TO PARLIAMENT \u2013 12 JANUARY 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With\u00a0permission\u00a0Madam\u00a0Deputy Speaker,\u00a0I would like to make a statement on\u00a0AI, social\u00a0media\u00a0and online safety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

No woman or child should live in fear of having their image sexually manipulated by technology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet in recent days, the Grok\u00a0AI\u00a0tool on the social media platform X has been used to create and share degrading, non-consensual intimate deepfakes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The content which has circulated on X is vile. It is not just an affront to decent society \u2013 it is illegal. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reports \u201ccriminal imagery\u201d of children as young as 11, including girls\u00a0sexualised\u00a0and topless.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is Child Sexual Abuse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve\u00a0seen reports of photos\u00a0being shared of women in bikinis,\u00a0tied\u00a0up\u00a0and gagged, with bruises, covered in blood.\u00a0And much, much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lives can and have been devastated by this content, which is designed to harass, torment, and violate people\u2019s dignity. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

They are\u00a0not\u00a0harmless images \u2013 they are weapons of abuse, disproportionately aimed at women and girls.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And they are illegal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last\u00a0week,\u00a0X limited the image creation function to paid subscribers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This does not go anywhere\u00a0near far\u00a0enough.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is insulting to victims to say you can still have this service if you are willing to pay. <\/p>\n

And it is\u00a0monetising\u00a0abuse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So let me be\u00a0crystal clear: sharing, or threatening to share, a\u00a0deepfake\u00a0intimate image without consent \u2013 including images of people in their underwear \u2013 is a criminal offence.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the Online Safety Act,\u00a0sharing\u00a0images \u2013 or threatening to share them \u2013 is a criminal offence.\u00a0For individuals, and for platforms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

My predecessor \u2013 the Right\u00a0Honourable\u00a0Member for Hove\u00a0and Portslade\u00a0\u2013 made this a \u2018priority offence\u2019,\u00a0so services\u00a0have to\u00a0take proactive action to stop this content from appearing in the first place.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Data Act, passed last year, made it a criminal offence to\u00a0create\u00a0\u2013 or request the creation of \u2013 non-consensual intimate images.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And today, I can announce to the House\u00a0that this offence will be brought into force this week\u00a0and that I will make it a priority offence in the Online Safety Act too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This means individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create \u2013 or\u00a0seek\u00a0to create \u2013 such content \u2013 including on X\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and anyone who does this should expect to face the full extent of the law. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the responsibilities do not just lie with individuals for their own\u00a0behaviour.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The platforms that host such material must be held accountable \u2013 including X.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Madam\u00a0Deputy\u00a0Speaker,\u00a0Ofcom\u00a0this morning confirmed that they have opened a formal investigation into X and will assess their compliance with the Online Safety Act.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The government expects\u00a0Ofcom\u00a0to set out a timeline for the investigation as soon as possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The public \u2013 and most importantly, the victims\u00a0of\u00a0Grok\u2019s\u00a0activities\u00a0\u2013 expect swift and decisive action.\u00a0So\u00a0this must not take\u00a0months and months.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But X\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0have to wait for the\u00a0Ofcom\u00a0investigation to conclude.\u00a0They can choose to act sooner to ensure this abhorrent and illegal material cannot be shared on their platform.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If they do not,\u00a0Ofcom\u00a0will have the backing of this government to use the full powers which Parliament has given them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And I would remind X \u2013 and\u00a0all\u00a0other platforms \u2013 that this\u00a0includes\u00a0the power to issue fines worth millions of dollars, or 10% of a company\u2019s qualifying worldwide revenue. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And in the most serious cases,\u00a0Ofcom\u00a0can apply for a court order to stop UK\u00a0users\u00a0accessing the site.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Madam\u00a0Deputy\u00a0Speaker, this government will do everything in our power to keep women and especially children safe online.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So\u00a0I can today confirm that we will build on all the measures I have already outlined\u00a0and legislate\u00a0in\u00a0the Crime and Policing Bill \u2013 which is currently going through Parliament \u2013 to\u00a0criminalise\u00a0nudification\u00a0apps.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools designed to create non-consensual intimate images, targeting the problem at its source.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And in addition to\u00a0all of\u00a0these actions,\u00a0we expect technology companies to introduce the steps recommended by\u00a0Ofcom\u2019s guidance on how to make platforms safer for women and girls without delay.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And if they do not,\u00a0I\u00a0am prepared to go further.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because\u00a0this\u00a0government\u00a0believes\u00a0tackling violence against women and girls is as important online as it is in the real world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Madam\u00a0Deputy\u00a0Speaker, this is not \u2013 as some would claim \u2013 about restricting freedom of speech,\u00a0something I and the whole government hold very dear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is about tackling violence against women and girls.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0about upholding basic British values of decency and\u00a0respect, and\u00a0ensuring the standards we expect offline are upheld online.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it is about exercising our sovereign power and responsibility to uphold the laws of the land.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hope this is a time when MPs on all sides of the House will stand up for British\u00a0laws and British\u00a0values and call out the platforms that allow explicit,\u00a0degrading\u00a0and illegal content. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is time to choose a side.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If I may\u00a0Madam\u00a0Deputy\u00a0Speaker,\u00a0I would also like to address calls from MPs on all sides of this House for the government to end its participation on X.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I understand why many colleagues have come to this conclusion when X seems so unwilling to clean up its act. The government will of course keep our participation under review.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But our job is to protect women and girls from\u00a0illegal and\u00a0harmful content wherever it is found.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is also worth bearing in mind,\u00a0with 19 million people\u00a0on\u00a0X\u00a0in this country,\u00a0and more than a quarter using it as their primary source of news,\u00a0that our views \u2013 and often simply the facts \u2013 need to be heard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Madam\u00a0Deputy\u00a0Speaker, let me conclude by saying this.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

AI\u00a0is a transformative technology which has the potential to bring about extraordinary and welcome change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Creating jobs and growth. Diagnosing and treating diseases. Helping children learn at school. Tackling climate change. And so much more besides.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But\u00a0in order to\u00a0seize these opportunities, people must feel confident that they\u00a0and their children\u00a0are safe\u00a0online\u00a0and that\u00a0AI\u00a0is not used for destructive and abusive ends.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many tech companies want to and are acting responsibly. But when they do not, we must and we will act.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Innovation should serve humanity; not degrade it. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So\u00a0we will leave no stone unturned in our determination\u00a0to stamp out these demeaning,\u00a0degrading\u00a0and illegal images. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If that means strengthening the existing laws, we are prepared to do so. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because this government stands on the side of decency.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We stand on the side of the law. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We stand for basic British values supported by\u00a0the vast majority of\u00a0people in this country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And I commend this statement to the House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEMENT TO PARLIAMENT \u2013 12 JANUARY 2026 With\u00a0permission\u00a0Madam\u00a0Deputy Speaker,\u00a0I would like to make a statement on\u00a0AI, social\u00a0media\u00a0and online…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-693918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115889807443354843","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}