January 12, 2026 Canada, Australia and the UK are reportedly weighing tough action against X after its AI chatbot, Grok, was repeatedly used to generate non-consensual sexualised images of women and children. The generation of sexualized images, which includes minors, has triggered global outrage.
According to reports cited by Inde News and GB News, officials in Ottawa, London and Canberra have discussed coordinated responses, including the possibility of restricting or banning X.
While Canada has sought to cool speculation, with Liberal MPs telling citizens that “Canada is not considering a ban of X,” regulators reportedly continue to monitor developments. Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the use of the tool as “completely abhorrent,” adding that it was “once again, an example of social media not showing social responsibility.”
The backlash intensified after multiple high-profile incidents highlighted Grok’s apparent lack of guardrails. In one case, Grok generated a sexualised image of Renée Nicole Good, a woman who had just been shot and killed by a US immigration officer, after a user request. In posts reviewed by journalists, Grok acknowledged creating the image and conceded it “may violate the 2025 TAKE IT DOWN Act,” which criminalises non-consensual intimate imagery.
A Reuters review found more than 100 attempts in a 10-minute window to use Grok to digitally alter women’s images into bikinis. The chatbot complied fully in at least 21 cases and partially in others. The Internet Watch Foundation has also reported discovering what it described as “criminal imagery” of girls aged 11 to 13 that appeared to be created using Grok and shared on dark web forums.
Regulators are now testing whether existing laws can keep pace. UK media regulator Ofcom has launched an urgent assessment of X, with Technology Secretary Liz Kendall warning the platform could be blocked if it fails to comply with the Online Safety Act. Indonesia has already temporarily suspended Grok, calling non-consensual sexual deepfakes “a serious violation of human rights.”
Facing mounting pressure, X has restricted Grok’s image-editing features to paying subscribers, a move Downing Street criticised as “insulting” to victims. Musk, meanwhile, has dismissed calls for stronger intervention as censorship, reposting content mocking government concerns and claiming critics “just want to suppress free speech.” The tech CEO has particularly called out the UK’s Labour Party for “censorship,” per The Telegraph. Alongside other UK politicians who have condemned the use of Grok for the generation of non-consensual explicit images, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called it “disgraceful” and “disgusting.”
