ALBAWABA - Ofcom, the UK's independent media regulator has launched an investigation on Musk's X, after users used the platform's AI companion, Grok to generate explicit deepfake images of women and children.
According to Sky News, the investigation was launched under the Online Safety Act with Ofcom stating that it contacted the social media platform on Monday and set a deadline for Friday for X to "explain what steps it has taken to comply with its duties to protect its users in the UK."
Ofcom took to X and wrote, " We've opened a formal investigation into X under the Online Safety Act, to determine whether it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from illegal content."
UK's Ofcom launches investigation on X over explicit Grok AI trend
The investigation in question will explore if whether X's owner Elon Musk "failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act."
As part of Ofcom's investigation, the media regulator will look into several factors such as the risk of netizens seeing illegal content in the UK, and Grok's risk on children.
In response to the possible ban, many netizens took to several social media platforms accusing the UK government of censorship and a breaching free speech.
According to Al Jazeera, Malaysia and Indonesia banned Grok after many users used the platform to generate explicit content. However, Malaysia only temporarly banned the AI platfrom and stated it would lift it if xAI, the platform's developer introduced safeguards that comply with the country's law.
