The Commons Women and Equalities Committee has decided to stop using X after the social media site’s AI tools began generating thousands of digitally altered images of women and children taking off their clothes.
The move by the cross-party committee comes as pressure on ministers to take decisive action increases after the site was flooded with images, including sexually explicit and nude photos of children, generated by its AI tool, Grok.
Labor MP Sarah Owen, who chairs the committee, said that while preventing violence against women and girls is one of its key policy areas, “it has become increasingly clear that X is not an appropriate platform to use for our communications”.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall called the image “appalling and unacceptable in a civilized society” and urged Ofcom, the UK media regulator, to take whatever action is needed.
Speaking on Wednesday, a spokesman for Keir Starmer said “all options are on the table” for Ofcom, which has the power to impose hefty fines or restrict access to a site.
The decision by the Women and Equalities Committee is the first significant step in the Westminster organization’s exit from the X. The committee is understood to have taken this decision in a meeting on Wednesday. It will keep its X account, which has about 27,000 followers, in existence but inactive, to ensure that no one else can take it over.
While the decision only concerns committee accounts, some individual members, including Owen, have already stopped using X. Another, Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine, said she was leaving the platform, calling the images generated by Grok “the last straw”.
Jardine said he thinks X is a good way to communicate with components. “But I cannot in good conscience continue to use a platform that is unwilling to take action against this extremely offensive and degrading online behavior towards women and girls,” she said.
Owen also plans to write to the Cabinet Office and Ofcom to urge action against Axe. She said: “I personally came out of
“In recent times,
“We do not believe it is appropriate to use such a platform to share our work. I hope that the government, Ofcom and relevant law enforcement agencies will act swiftly to comply with UK law on online safety and non-consensual intimate image abuse, to hold it to account for its failings and to be appropriately sanctioned if it refuses to comply with our laws.”
On Monday, Ofcom said it was aware of serious concerns raised about Grok producing images of naked people and sexually explicit images of children. It said it had contacted X and XAI “to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK” and would assess the need for an investigation based on the company’s response.
A spokesperson for Starmer said: “What we have seen on Grok is outrageous. It is completely unacceptable. No one should have to go through the ordeal of deepfakes online, and we will not allow the spread of these offensive images.
“X needs to tackle this urgently, and Ofcom has our full support in taking enforcement action wherever companies are failing to protect UK users. It already has the power to issue fines of up to billions of pounds and even block access to sites that breach the law. And when it comes to keeping people safe online, all options remain on the table.”
Asked about the issue, Kemi Badenoch’s spokesperson said the Conservative leader agreed with the government: “We both find it absolutely disgusting and want to put a stop to it as quickly as possible.”
Asked if this might mean Badenoch, an avid user of
Earlier on Wednesday, Nigel Farage was asked whether he was happy making money from a site whose business model is partly based on child sexual abuse material. Reform UK leaders are paid for engagement as highly followed verified users on the site.
Faraz dodged the question but said he was “very concerned” about the images and believed Ax would listen to the criticism.
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