Khaberni - The independent British internet safety authority (Ofcom), on Monday, opened an investigation concerning the smart chatbot "Grok" owned by the "X" platform after its use in creating sexual images of women and children.
The online safety monitoring body stated that it has opened a formal investigation regarding "X" company under the UK's online safety law to determine whether it complied with protecting people from illegal content in the United Kingdom.
The authority reported very alarming reports that suggest the use of the Grok AI chatbot account on the "X" platform to create and share nude images of people, which may rise to the level of misuse of intimate images or pornography and sexual images of children that may rise to the level of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
It added in the statement: "As the independent online safety regulation body in the United Kingdom, we urgently contacted 'X' on Monday, January 5, and set a strict deadline on Friday, January 9, for it to explain the steps it has taken to comply with its duties in protecting its users in the United Kingdom."
It confirmed that the American company responded in a timely manner, and we conducted a swift assessment of the available evidence.
The authority pointed out that it has decided to open a formal investigation to determine whether "X" company has breached its legal obligations under the online safety law, particularly in regards to:
- Assessing the risks of people in the United Kingdom seeing illegal content in the United Kingdom, and conducting an updated risk assessment before making any significant changes to their service.
- Taking appropriate steps to prevent people in the United Kingdom from seeing illegal content including non-consensual intimate images.
- Removing illegal content quickly upon becoming aware of it.
- Considering protecting users from violating privacy laws.
- Assessing risks their services pose to children in the United Kingdom, and conducting an updated risk assessment before making any substantial changes.
- Using highly effective age verification safeguards to protect children in the United Kingdom from viewing pornography materials.
The authority emphasized that the legal responsibility lies with the platforms to determine whether the content violates British laws, and it can use the United Kingdom's guidelines on provisions of illegal content when making these decisions.
It clarified in this context that the Communications Regulation Authority (Ofcom) is not a regulatory body, and does not issue specific orders regarding posts or accounts that must be deleted.
It asserted that its mission is to judge whether websites and apps have taken appropriate steps to protect people in the United Kingdom from illegal content, and protect children from harmful content, such as pornography.
If "X" does not comply with "Ofcom" requirements, the regulatory authority may request a court order to force internet service providers to block access to the site entirely within the United Kingdom.
And "Ofcom" may impose on "X" if it is proven to have breached the law, a fine amounting to ten percent of its global revenues or 18 million pounds sterling (20 million euros).
"Grok" and the Domino Effect
Technical reports revealed that the artificial intelligence program "Grok" is capable of generating fake pornographic images and content that exploits minors based on user requests.
The British Minister Liz Kendal hinted at the possibility of actually supporting a ban on the platform through "Ofcom" (Ofcom), the independent, government-accredited regulatory body for the telecommunications and media sector in the United Kingdom, if "X" does not comply with digital safety standards, describing the sexual manipulation of images of women and children as "despicable".
Meanwhile, the Indonesian authorities decided to block access to "Grok" as a quick response to reports revealing security flaws in image generation algorithms.
Although the company announced last Thursday that it had limited image generation features to "premium" subscribers only as a precaution, the Indonesian government considered the step insufficient to protect the digital space from "Deepfake" content, which puts additional pressure on Musk, who faces similar investigations in several global capitals.
While the "X" team remains silent in response to formal comment requests, observers believe that the Indonesian blockage may represent the beginning of a "Domino Effect" that other countries might follow if the platform fails to plug protection gaps that allowed the production of unethical content affecting women and children.
It is worth mentioning that the service was initially enabling users to ask questions to the chatbot through the social networking platform and tag the posts they created directly or the replies to posts from other users.
Last summer, the company added an image generation feature called "Grok Imagine", which includes what is called "spicy mode" capable of producing adult content.
