Never far from controversy, Elon Musk kicked off 2026 in form as his social media platform, X, faced a UK ban due to the antics of Grok, its AI chatbot.
In early January, stories began to emerge that platform users were using the bot for more than just fact-checking.
After posting a photo of herself taken by her fiancé, Brazilian singer Julie Yukari discovered X users were asking Grok to digitally remove her clothes and put her in a bikini.
Initially she shrugged it off, not imagining Grok would oblige – but she was wrong. Nearly naked images of her were soon spreading across the site.
She wasn’t alone. When a researcher from Dublin’s Trinity College analysed a sample of 500 Grok prompts she discovered almost three-quarters were requests for images of women or children with their clothing removed.
The government regulator, Ofcom, launched an immediate enquiry under the Online Safety Act, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the platform could be blocked if Musk did not take action.
After a brief stand-off, Musk backed down. Grok will no longer be able to strip unsuspecting victims in jurisdictions where it is illegal. But the case has raised a series of legal questions and potential actions that are likely to recur as generative AI becomes more widely used.
- Liability: When an AI chatbot generates unlawful or harmful content in response to user prompts, responsibility may sit with multiple parties: the user who made the request, the platform hosting the content, and the developer that designed and deployed the system. Determining where liability begins and ends, in both civil and criminal contexts, remains a contested question.
- Responsibility for user generated content: The case highlights the importance of monitoring social media platforms and online forums. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, companies are not merely required to respond once harm has occurred; they must assess foreseeable risks in advance and put effective safeguards in place. The apparent delay in restricting Grok’s functionality has prompted debate over how quickly platforms must act when misuse becomes evident.
- Cross-border enforcement: The controversy underscores the cross-border nature of AI regulation. While Grok was deployed globally, legality varies sharply between jurisdictions. Platforms must navigate overlapping and sometimes conflicting laws, while regulators increasingly expect compliance with the most stringent standards rather than the lowest common denominator.
- Criminal prosecution: Requests to generate non-consensual sexual images, particularly where children are involved, may amount to serious criminal offences. This raises questions about criminal exposure not only for individual users, but potentially for those responsible for operating or overseeing AI systems if adequate controls are not in place.
- Reputational and regulatory risk: The case shows how quickly public scrutiny can translate into regulatory action, leaving little time for platforms to respond to enforcement risks.
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Siobhain Egan, Director (Non Executive)