Ofcom launches official investigation into Musk’s X over sexualised imagery

The UK’s independent online safety watchdog, Ofcom, has formally opened a formal investigation into X under the UK’s Online Safety Act.

The investigation will determine whether it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK, the regulator said in a statement on Monday (12 January).

“There have been deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images of people – which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography – and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material (CSAM,” it said.

“As the UK’s independent online safety watchdog, we urgently made contact with X on Monday 5 January and set a firm deadline of Friday 9 January for it to explain what steps it has taken to comply with its duties to protect its users in the UK.

“The company responded by the deadline, and we carried out an expedited assessment of available evidence as a matter of urgency.”

Ofcom said that the key factors that the investigation will look at X failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act, including:

• Assess the risk of people in the UK seeing content that is illegal in the UK, and to carry out an updated risk assessment before making any significant changes to their service;
• Take appropriate steps to prevent people in the UK from seeing ‘priority’ illegal content – including non-consensual intimate images and CSAM;
• Take down illegal content swiftly when they become aware of it;
• Have regard to protecting users from a breach of privacy laws;
• Assess the risk their service poses to UK children, and to carry out an updated risk assessment before making any significant changes to their service; and
• Use highly effective age assurance to protect UK children from seeing pornography.

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