— Netizens kick
The UK government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is reportedly in discussions with Australia regarding a potential international ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X. This initiative follows rising concerns over the platform’s AI tool, Grok, which has been implicated in generating explicit images of women and children.
Downing Street has engaged in talks with the Australian government about a joint response to the controversy surrounding Grok. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commented on the issue, stating, “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.”
The UK is contemplating more stringent measures, with officials suggesting that it may impose a complete ban on X under online safety legislation if Mr Musk does not remove the feature enabling the creation of explicit images.
Meanwhile, Britain news channel (GBI) reported on Sunday that such actions could potentially aggravate the Trump administration, which has opposed the censorship of American tech companies abroad. On Saturday, Musk referred to the Labour Party as “fascist” and accused government ministers of wanting “any excuse for censorship” of his platform.
In response to the discussions surrounding the proposed ban, Musk authenticated a post by X user @Tobi Lutke, who reacted by saying, “This is a great honeypot. Any government official who suggests banning X is not a public servant and needs to resign. Let’s see what happens.” Musk retweeted the post on Sunday, adding his own comment, “Indeed.” This sparked a wave of reactions from many X users, the majority of whom condemned the proposed ban.
Republican Congresswoman Anna Pauline Luna, allied with Mr Trump, has threatened to impose sanctions on Starmer and the UK should X be blocked, indicating the diplomatic tensions that could arise from such a decision.
Blocking the platform would align the UK with countries like Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia. However, government officials believe that coordinated action among multiple nations would send a strong message to Musk regarding the gravity of the situation.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has expressed her support for Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, should it recommend a complete ban on access to the popular social media platform. In her opinion piece for The Telegraph, she urged MPs to stand firm against platforms that enable the creation of “sexually manipulated images” of women and children.
Kendall’s comments echoed criticisms directed at opponents of the Online Safety Act, including Nigel Farage, who has been accused of aligning with those who tolerate such content. “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 asserted. “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.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Labour MP David Lammy revealed that US Vice President JD Vance agreed that the use of Grok is “entirely unacceptable” during their meeting in Washington DC. Lammy noted, “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.”
Ofcom is expected to announce its recommended course of action in the coming days, as the issue continues to escalate on the international stage.
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