Regulators reveal ‘urgent contact’ with X over nudifying concerns

Ruaraidh Gilmour and PublicTechnology staff January 8, 2026 in News, Society and welfare - 3 Minutes

There have been reports that the social media site’s Grok AI system is being used by people online to create naked and sexualised images without consent, including content featuring children

Two regulators have made “urgent contact” with xAI, the company owned by Elon Musk, after reports that its artificial intelligence tool Grok can be used to make “sexualised images of children” and undress women.

Over the last week, numerous accounts on the social media platform X have asked the AI chatbot to edit images of women to appear in bikinis without the person in the photo’s consent. There have also been examples of images that have been put in sexual situations.

A spokesperson for the UK’s media regulator said it was investigating concerns that Grok has been producing “undressed images” of people.

Meanwhile, the national data-protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office has also been in touch with the tech company to probe the issue – and consider whether any additional measures might be appropriate.

At the weekend, X issued a warning to users not to use Grok to generate illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.

Also commenting on the platform, Musk said: “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”

xAi’s acceptable use policy for Grok prohibits “depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner”.

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The Online Safety Act, which was passed in late 2023, made it illegal to create or share intimate or sexually explicit images of a person without their consent. This includes deepfakes generated with AI tools.

It is expected that tech companies take “appropriate steps” to reduce the risks to their UK users and remove the content quickly when it is raised to them.

In a statement, Ofcom said: “We are aware of serious concerns raised about a feature on Grok on X that produces undressed images of people and sexualised images of children. We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK. Based on their response we will undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation.”

A spokesperson for the ICO added: “People have a right to use social media knowing their personal data is being handled lawfully and with respect. We are aware of reports raising serious concerns about content produced by Grok. We have contacted X and xAI to seek clarity on the measures they have in place to comply with UK data protection law and protect individuals’ rights. Once we have reviewed their response, we will quickly assess whether further action may be required.”

PublicTechnology sister publication Holyrood approached xAI for comment.