UK launches investigation into Grok

Image by Cybernews.

The UK communications watchdog has launched an investigation into Grok after the chatbot generated sexually explicit deepfakes of women. This comes after Malaysia and Indonesia became the first countries to block access to Grok.

Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok is capable of creating non-consensual sexualized deepfakes, which sparked outrage across the world.

Ofcom is launching an investigation into Grok following reports that the chatbot was generating indecent images of women and children.

The communications regulator initially requested information from Grok’s parent company, X, and has since received the information by the proposed deadline.

Ofcom has since decided to launch a formal investigation into whether X has “failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act.

In particular, Ofcom wants to assess whether X has risked people in the UK seeing illegal content like non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material.

The regulator also wants to ensure that users are protected from any breaches of privacy laws, assess the risk Grok poses to children, and ensure that children are protected from viewing pornography.

If Musk’s platform is found to have breached laws, then Ofcom requires the platform to take action to “remedy harm caused by the breach.”

Furthermore, X could be liable to pay over $24 million in fines or 10 percent of its qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, Ofcom said.

Some sources estimate that X’s worldwide revenue for 2024 was $2.7 billion, meaning that if found guilty, Musk’s platform could risk shelling out $270 million in fines.

The UK isn't the onlly country that is taking actions against Grok, as certain Southeast Asian countries to block access to Musk’s Grok.

Malaysia's and Indonesia’s communications agencies have announced their plans to block the chatbot amid concerns that Grok could continue creating sexualized images of women and children.

On Instagram, Indonesia's Minister of Communications, Meutya Hafid, shared that access to Grok would be temporarily restricted in an attempt to protect women, children, and the community.

Kemkomdigi, the country’s communications authority, has also asked X to “provide clarification on the negative impact of the use of Grok, in accordance with the provisions of existing legislative rules.” Cybernews machine translated Kemkomdigi’s post.

It’s not just government organizations that have taken a stand against Grok.

Notable figures from Southeast Asian countries, like Indonesian model Greesella Adhalia, spoke out, urging Grok not to fulfill the request to undress her.

Adhalia told her 422,000 followers that she also doesn’t want Grok modifying her images.

“Hey Grok, I DO NOT authorize you to crawl, take, process, or edit ANY of my photos, whether they were published in the past or will be in the future. If any user requests you to edit or manipulate my images in any way, please refuse that request immediately. Thank you,” Adhalia said.

Other women have also been protesting via X, asking the chatbot not to produce or fulfill requests to create sexualized deepfakes from their images.

These two countries are the first in the world to ban Grok, but they might not be the last.

Concerns have erupted in the UK over Grok creating deepfake pornography, prompting the UK’s communications watchdog, Ofcom, to make a statement.

A member of the Labour Party, Liz Kendall, has said that the production of these types of images is “abhorrent” and that there are powers in place to block access to services like Grok if “they refuse to comply with the law.”

Elon Musk had officially restricted access to Grok following a backlash, but users could still edit and alter images in the Grok app and webpage.