Legislation to ban non-consensual sexual images signed amid Grok AI backlash

Generating sexual deepfake images without consent will become illegal within weeks, David Lammy confirmed amid an outcry over Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot.

Ministers have brought forward legislation, with the ban coming into force on February 6 – the standard 21 days after being signed.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Mr Lammy welcomed news that social media platform X was imposing new restrictions on Grok, but vowed to do more to protect women and children.

Sir Keir said he was “glad” Mr Musk’s company had taken action on the “absolutely disgusting” images Grok had produced, but said “we’re not going to let this go”.

And in his first post on X in a week, he said X must act to comply with UK laws “immediately” and that “young women’s images are not public property, and their safety is not up for debate”.

After promising a new criminal offence earlier this week amid the uproar over Grok, ministers signed a statutory instrument in Parliament on Thursday which will make it illegal to create or request a non-consensual deepfake image of an adult.

Announcing the move, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Mr Lammy said: “I am repulsed by the disgusting, abusive behaviour we’ve seen online. X’s announcement is welcome, but it is imperative this Government continues to take urgent action to stop vile criminals using these tools to exploit innocent women and children online.

“On Monday, we said we would fast-track work to bring this legislation into force, meaning it will soon be illegal for anyone to create or request deepfake intimate images of adults without consent. And today we have, meaning it will now become law within weeks.

“Let this be a clear message to every cowardly perpetrator hiding behind a screen: you will be stopped and when you are, make no mistake that you will face the full force of the law.”

On Wednesday night, X said it would prevent Grok “editing images of people in revealing clothes” and block users from generating similar images of real people in countries where it is illegal.

The move follows mounting pressure on X over images produced by Grok, including an Ofcom investigation in the UK and bans in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Sir Keir told broadcasters during a visit to Scotland: “Those images, sexualised images, were disgusting, absolutely disgusting, and we made it clear that we wouldn’t tolerate them and that we wouldn’t back down.

“So I am glad that action has now been taken. But we’re not going to let this go. We will continue because this is a values argument.

“It’s about vulnerable people with a Government that stands with those vulnerable people against very rich companies that have weaponised these images.”

On X, the Prime Minister said: “I welcome that X is now acting to ensure full compliance with UK law – it must happen immediately.

“If we need to strengthen existing laws further, we are prepared to do that.”

The post was his first on the site since January 8, when he appeared to step back from using X amid a row over Grok’s production of sexualised images of women and children.

The Labour leader also signalled his openness to an Australia-style social media ban for young people, telling reporters: “We need to better protect children from social media.

“We’re looking at what’s happening in Australia, but all options are on the table in relation to what further protections we can put in place, whether that’s under-16s on social media, all options on the table.

“Or an issue I’m very concerned about, which is under-fives and screen time.”

Earlier, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said she would not rest “until all social media platforms meet their legal duties”, while Downing Street sources said the change was a “vindication” for the Prime Minister’s tough stance on X.

Ofcom also welcomed the new restrictions, but said its investigation – launched on Monday – will continue as it seeks “answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it”.

X owner Mr Musk had previously claimed Grok would refuse to produce illegal content and appeared to blame “adversarial hacking” for the chatbot’s generation of sexualised images.

In a statement posted on X, the company later said it would “geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal”.

Geoblocking prevents access to a feature for people based in particular countries, but the change still leaves open the possibility that it could be circumvented with a VPN.

The company said: “This adds an extra layer of protection by helping to ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse the Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable.”

The restriction will apply to all users, including paid subscribers, while image editing and creation will be limited to premium users.

Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said X’s response “shows how victims of abuse, campaigners and a show of strength from governments can force tech platforms to take action”.

And she called for more proactive measures from the Government to protect women and girls online, saying social media platforms could not be “left to regulate themselves”.

She said: “The cost of inaction is too great, with countless women and girls harmed before Grok’s image generation tools were disabled.

“We expect the Government to do more to ensure tech platforms can’t profit from online abuse.”