Ofcom opens X investigation over Grok deepfake image complaints
The UK's media regulator Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into X over complaints that the platform's Grok chatbot was used to create deepfake sexualised images, according to the RTÉ report in the packet. Ofcom said it had seen deeply concerning reports that the account had been used to generate undressed images of people and sexualised images of children. The regulator is now assessing whether X failed to comply with its duties under the Online Safety Act.
The source material shows the speed of the response. Ofcom contacted X on Monday, Jan. 5 and gave it a Friday, Jan. 9 deadline to explain what steps it had taken to comply with its legal obligations. After the company responded, the regulator carried out an expedited assessment of the evidence and decided to launch a formal probe. That sequence matters because it shows the complaint was not treated as a vague public-relations problem but as a potential legal breach.
The packet also says xAI, the Elon Musk-led company behind Grok, had already moved to restrict image generation and editing to paying subscribers while it addressed the failures that allowed users to create sexualised content of others, often without consent. That step suggests the company was trying to limit misuse after the fact, but the regulator's question is whether the measures were fast enough and strong enough to protect UK users.
If Ofcom finds X has broken the law, it can require compliance and can fine the company up to 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue. That is a serious sanction for any global platform and a reminder that online safety rules are no longer symbolic. The packet also says Downing Street is keeping all options on the table, including whether the government should continue to use X, while ministers prepare a separate law criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images.
The wider concern is not limited to the UK. The source says Ireland's media regulator is engaging with the European Commission, Malaysia has temporarily blocked access to Grok and Indonesia was the first country to deny access to the bot. Those moves show how quickly a chatbot controversy can spill across borders when it intersects with abuse, child safety and platform governance.
The event date for this story is 2026-01-12. What the supplied report verifies is that Ofcom has moved from warning to investigation, that the complaints involve sexualised deepfakes and that the legal and political consequences could be substantial if the platform is found to have fallen short.
The complaints around Grok also point to a broader problem for regulators: once an image-making tool is folded into a large social network, abuse can be produced and distributed at scale before a company reacts. That is why the investigation matters beyond X itself. It is a test of whether online safety law can keep up with generative AI abuse as it spreads across platforms and jurisdictions. The regulator's challenge is no longer whether the content is disturbing. It is whether the law can stop it fast enough.
