Britain has welcomed a U-turn by xAI after the company moved to stop its Grok chatbot from generating non-consensual sexually explicit deepfake images, but authorities have made it clear that their investigation into the issue will continue.
The change came late Wednesday when xAI imposed new restrictions on all users of Grok, limiting image-editing features following growing concern from regulators around the world. British officials said the move was a positive step, but not the end of the matter.
“However, our formal investigation remains ongoing. We are working around the clock to progress this and get answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it,” a spokesperson said.
Britain is among a widening group of countries taking action against sexually explicit content generated by Grok, including bans and demands for stronger safeguards, as part of a broader international effort to curb illegal and harmful material online.
xAI, which is owned by Elon Musk, said it has now implemented technical fixes to prevent Grok accounts on X from editing images of real people into revealing outfits such as bikinis. The feature had earlier been limited to paying users, a step that failed to ease criticism.
Britain’s Technology Secretary said the reversal showed the impact of the country’s online regulation framework, describing it as proof that the Online Safety Act is giving authorities the tools needed to hold major platforms accountable. She added that she would continue pushing until social media services are safe and age-appropriate, particularly for children.
Media regulator Ofcom separately said that Snapchat has “materially improved” its assessment of illegal content risks, strengthening protections for UK users.
Regulatory pressure is also building outside Britain. In the United States, California officials have demanded explanations from xAI after Musk said he was unaware of any naked images of minors generated by Grok. Earlier in the controversy, Musk had appeared to dismiss criticism with jokes and emojis on social media.
xAI has since said it takes reports of child sexual abuse material seriously and enforces strict policies. The company is now under scrutiny in multiple countries, including France, India, and the Philippines. Philippine authorities said on Thursday that they are moving to block Grok over concerns about its ability to generate sexualised images that could pose risks to children.
The growing international response highlights increasing pressure on AI developers to prevent misuse of powerful generative tools and ensure stronger protections against abuse.
