Tech billionaire says threat to ban social media site over sexualised AI images is ‘censorship’
Ministers are rallying international support for a crackdown on Elon Musk’s social media site X amid outrage over its use to create fake photos of naked women and children.
Downing Street has held talks with like-minded governments about a coordinated response to the controversy, which threatens to erupt into a diplomatic row with the White House.
Australia and Canada are both said to share Sir Keir Starmer’s concerns over the use of Grok, X’s artificial intelligence tool, to generate explicit “deepfake” images.
Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, said: “The fact that this tool was used so that people were using its image creation function through Grok is, I think, just completely abhorrent. It, once again, is an example of social media not showing social responsibility. Australians and indeed, global citizens deserve better.”
Indonesia became the first country to block access to Grok on Saturday, citing a “serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space”.
Britain has threatened to go further and use online safety laws to ban X completely if Mr Musk does not remove the feature being used to create pornographic photos.
However, the move would provoke outrage in Washington, where Donald Trump’s administration has aggressively pushed back on what it sees as attempts to censor American tech giants.
Government officials believe that it will send a powerful message to Mr Musk if a number of countries move to block the site in tandem.
Mr Musk hit back on Saturday, accusing the Government of being “fascist” and claiming ministers just “want any excuse for censorship” of his site.
The world’s richest man was part of Donald Trump’s team when he first entered the White House and has close links to parts of the Republican Party.
Anna Pauline Luna, a congresswoman and ally of the US president, has threatened to introduce a bill imposing sanctions on Sir Keir and the UK if X is banned.
Other members of Mr Trump’s party are understood to have concerns about the website’s use, which they have expressed in conversations with British officials.
In December, the Trump administration banned two Britons from the US for curbing free speech and bullying social media titans to “punish American viewpoints”.
Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a group set up by Sir Keir’s chief of staff, is facing deportation. Clare Melford, who heads the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), has had her US visa revoked.
Washington insiders told The Telegraph that White House aides had been weighing up how to send a strong message to Sir Keir Starmer without sanctioning government officials.
Ofcom, the media watchdog, is expected to announce within a matter of days what action it thinks should be taken to protect internet users in the UK.
Liz Kendall, the Technology Secretary, has said she will support the body if it recommends a full block on British users accessing the social media site.
Writing for The Telegraph, she suggested any MPs who oppose a ban will be allying with those who support the creation of “sexually manipulated images” of women and children.
“This is a moment for MPs on all sides of the House to stand up for decency and call out platforms which allow explicit, degrading and illegal content,” she wrote.
“It’s time to choose a side. They can either support the action we are taking under the Online Safety Act or they can ally with those who think the creation and publication of sexually manipulated images of women and children is acceptable.”
Her remarks appeared to be aimed at Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, who has criticised Grok’s use but has said he opposes the idea of banning X.
Mr Farage has said the Grok feature is “horrible in every way, distasteful, sick”, but has also accused Labour of being hostile to free speech.
David Lammy had also said JD Vance, the US vice-president, had agreed the use of Grok was “entirely unacceptable” during a meeting between the pair.
Speaking during a trip to Washington, the Deputy Prime Minister said they had discussed the issue and “he agreed with me that it was entirely unacceptable”.
He told The Guardian: “I think he recognised the very seriousness with which images of women and children could be manipulated in this way, and he recognised how despicable, unacceptable, that is and I found him sympathetic to that position.”
On Friday, a group of senior Democrats accused Mr Musk of negligently allowing “heinous” content to spring up on his platform and called for X to be banned from app stores.
Senators Ed Markey, Ron Wyden and Ben Ray Luján said in an open letter to the heads of Google and Apple: “Turning a blind eye to X’s egregious behaviour would make a mockery of your moderation practices.”