The UK government will impose online safety rules on AI chatbots following outcry over sexualised deepfakes created using Elon Musk’s Grok.
LONDON: AI chatbots will be brought under UK online safety laws, closing a legal loophole exposed after Elon Musk’s Grok tool was used to create sexualised deepfakes.
Providers will become responsible for preventing their chatbots from generating illegal or harmful content under the extended rules.
The move follows an international backlash against Grok for enabling the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery using simple text prompts.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government would “move fast to shut a legal loophole” ahead of a speech on the matter.
He stated providers must “abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law”.
The existing Act requires platforms to implement strict age verification for harmful content.
It also makes creating or sharing non-consensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes, illegal.
Britain’s media regulator Ofcom noted not all AI chatbots are currently regulated under the Act.
This includes tools that “only allow people to interact with the chatbot itself and no other users”.
Starmer acknowledged that “technology moves on so quickly that the legislation struggles to keep up”.
His government is ramping up online child protection efforts, including a consultation on a social media ban for under-16s.
It is also considering measures to limit features like infinite scrolling on social platforms.
The announcement follows Ofcom opening a probe into X, which hosts Grok, for potential safety failures in January.
The country’s data watchdog has launched a separate investigation into X and xAI over personal data law compliance.
In January 2025, Starmer had pledged to ease red tape to attract AI investment and make Britain an “AI superpower”.
