"The British government plans to criminalise the creation of 'deepfake' images, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Parliament on Monday, following an Ofcom investigation into X and Elon Musk's Grok AI. Earlier this month, a viral trend emerged where Grok users were asking the AI to 'undress' images of real women. Using prompts like 'put her in a transparent bikini or 'remove clothes', the AI reportedly generated thousands of non-consensual sexualised images, including pictures of celebrities and minors. "No woman or child should live in fear of having their image sexually manipulated by technology," Kendall said. "The content which has circulated on X is vile. It is not just an affront to decent society. It is illegal." "The Internet Watch Foundation reports criminal imagery of children as young as 11, including girls, sexualised and topless. This is child sexual abuse," she continued. "Lives can and have been devastated by this content, which is designed to harass, torment and violate people's dignity." Kendall told MPs that a new law that will make it illegal to create or supply non-consensual intimate images would come into force this week. "This means individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create or seek to create such content, including on X, and anyone who does this should expect to face the full extent of the law," the Technology Secretary said. "But the responsibilities do not just lie with individuals for their own behaviour. The platforms that host such material must be held accountable, including X,” she added. Kendall also announced a formal Ofcom investigation into X, which will assess the social media giant's compliance with the UK's Online Safety Act. "The public and, most importantly, the victims of Grok's activities expect swift and decisive action, so this must not take months and months," Kendall said. "But X does not have to wait for the Ofcom investigation to conclude. They can choose to act sooner to ensure this abhorrent and illegal material cannot be shared on their platform,” she added. If X is found to have violated the law, Ofcom could issue a fine of up to 10% of the company's worldwide revenue or £18 million. The British government plans to criminalise the creation of 'deepfake' images, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Parliament on Monday, following an Ofcom investigation into X and Elon Musk's Grok AI. Earlier this month, a viral trend emerged where Grok users were asking the AI to 'undress' images of real women. Using prompts like 'put her in a transparent bikini or 'remove clothes', the AI reportedly generated thousands of non-consensual sexualised images, including pictures of celebrities and minors. "No woman or child should live in fear of having their image sexually manipulated by technology," Kendall said. "The content which has circulated on X is vile. It is not just an affront to decent society. It is illegal." "The Internet Watch Foundation reports criminal imagery of children as young as 11, including girls, sexualised and topless. This is child sexual abuse," she continued. "Lives can and have been devastated by this content, which is designed to harass, torment and violate people's dignity." Kendall told MPs that a new law that will make it illegal to create or supply non-consensual intimate images would come into force this week. "This means individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create or seek to create such content, including on X, and anyone who does this should expect to face the full extent of the law," the Technology Secretary said. "But the responsibilities do not just lie with individuals for their own behaviour. The platforms that host such material must be held accountable, including X,” she added. Kendall also announced a formal Ofcom investigation into X, which will assess the social media giant's compliance with the UK's Online Safety Act. "The public and, most importantly, the victims of Grok's activities expect swift and decisive action, so this must not take months and months," Kendall said. "But X does not have to wait for the Ofcom investigation to conclude. They can choose to act sooner to ensure this abhorrent and illegal material cannot be shared on their platform,” she added. If X is found to have violated the law, Ofcom could issue a fine of up to 10% of the company's worldwide revenue or £18 million. In response, Musk has limited Grok image generation to paying subscribers and has accused the UK government of seeking 'any excuse for censorship', branding regulatory threats an attempt to 'suppress free speech'. The British government said it was criminalising the creation of 'non-consensual intimate images with AI' on Monday. - just days after tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk posted pictures of PM Keir Starmer in a bikini. Over the weekend, Musk wrote "they just want to suppress free speech" and posted two images AI-generated images of the PM. However, the UK government claimed the new law was about protecting children - a defence previously used during a row over 'overeach' in its controversial Online Safety Bill. "No woman or child should live in fear of having their image sexually manipulated by technology," technology secretary Liz Kendall told the House of Commons. "The content which has circulated on X is vile. It is not just an affront to decent society. It is illegal." "The Internet Watch Foundation reports criminal imagery of children as young as 11, including girls, sexualised and topless. This is child sexual abuse," she continued. "Lives can and have been devastated by this content, which is designed to harass, torment and violate people's dignity." "This means individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create or seek to create such content, including on X, and anyone who does this should expect to face the full extent of the law," she added. An online trend has seen X users utilising the Grok AI chatbot to undress images of people from celebrities to politicians. However, some users have questioned the focus on X when other AI platforms allow the same. Kendall also announced a formal Ofcom investigation into X, which will assess the social media giant's compliance with the UK's Online Safety Act - a law which has also come under fire for allegedly censoring free speech. Musk has limited the Grok AI image generation to paying subscribers but also branded regulatory threats an attempt to 'suppress free speech'. X also said it takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, “by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary". US lawmakers have threatened retaliatory measures on the UK government if it took steps to block X entirely."