Musk slams ‘fascist’ Britain as row over X and its AI Grok escalates

Elon Musk accused Keir Starmer’s Government of being “fascist” after ministers stepped up threats to ban social media site X over AI-generated sexual images.

The tech tycoon claims critics of his X platform “want a reason to censor” as he appears defiant despite protests over Grok’s use of artificial intelligence features to create fake images of people, including children.

Responding to a graph showing arrest figures for online posts with the UK at the top, Musk said: “Why is the UK government so fascist?”

Previously referring to claims that other AI programs created non-sexualized images of women in bikinis, he wrote in X: “They want a reason to censor.”

Criticism of X focused on the production of child abuse images and Grok’s manipulation of photos of real women and girls to remove their clothes.

Technology Minister Liz Kendall said she would support regulator Ofcom if they decided to effectively block X if it failed to comply with UK law, saying: “Sexually manipulating images of women and children is vile and disgusting.”

Ofcom said it carried out an “accelerated assessment” after X and Grok creator xAI responded to contacts from the regulator.

But Musk responded by sharing a post from US legislator Anna Paulina Luna threatening to impose sanctions on Keir Starmer and the UK if X is blocked in the country.

On Friday, X appeared to have changed Grok’s settings, with the chatbot telling users that only paying customers could ask it to manipulate images.

However, reports indicate that this only applies to those making reply requests to other posts, and other ways to edit or create images, including on a separate Grok website, remain open.

Musk attacks the British government

Kendall said it was “absolutely unacceptable that Grok would allow this if you are willing to pay for it”, and added that he expected an update on Ofcom’s next steps “in days, not weeks”.

Ofcom has powers under the Online Safety Act to fine businesses up to £18 million or 10 per cent of global turnover, as well as take criminal action.

The government can also order payment providers, advertisers and internet service providers to stop working with a site, effectively banning them, although this requires approval from the courts.

Kendall also mentioned plans to ban nudification apps as part of the Crime and Policing Bill due to be passed by Parliament and said powers to criminalize the making of intimate images without consent would come into force in the coming weeks.

The British Government’s criticism of X was supported by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Speaking in Canberra, he said: “The use of generative artificial intelligence to exploit or sexually abuse people without their consent is abhorrent.”

By David Hughes, Press Association Political Editor