Critics of
X “want any excuse for censorship”, Elon Musk has claimed, as his website faces the threat of being shut down in Britain over deepfake pornography and child abuse images.
The billionaire appeared defiant on Friday night despite the outcry over reports X’s AI chatbot Grok was creating sexualised images of people, including children, at users’ request.
Pointing to claims other AI programmes created non-sexualised images of women in bikinis, he posted on X: “They want any excuse for censorship.”
Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent
Criticism of X has focused on Grok’s production of images of child abuse and manipulation of photographs of real women and girls to remove their clothes.
British Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said earlier in the week she would back regulator Ofcom if it decided to effectively block X if it failed to comply with UK laws, saying: “Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent.”
Ofcom said it was undertaking an “expedited assessment”.
Musk responded by sharing a post from US legislator Anna Paulina Luna threatening to sanction both British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the United Kingdom if X was blocked in the country.