{"id":357985,"date":"2026-01-08T00:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/357985\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T00:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:22:12","slug":"commons-women-and-equalities-committee-to-stop-using-x-amid-ai-altered-images-row-x","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/357985\/","title":{"rendered":"Commons women and equalities committee to stop using X amid AI-altered images row | X"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Commons women and equalities committee has decided to stop using X after the social media site\u2019s AI tool began generating<\/a> thousands of digitally altered images of women and children with their clothes removed.<\/p>\n

The move by the cross-party committee places renewed pressure on ministers to take decisive action after the site was flooded with images including sexualised and unclothed pictures of children generated by its AI tool, Grok.<\/p>\n

Sarah Owen, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said that given preventing violence against women and girls was among its key policy areas, \u201cit has become increasingly clear that X<\/a> is not an appropriate platform to be using for our communications\u201d.<\/p>\n

Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, has called the imagery \u201cappalling and unacceptable<\/a> in decent society\u201d and urged Ofcom, the UK\u2019s media regulator, to take whatever action is needed.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Wednesday, Keir Starmer\u2019s spokesperson said that \u201call options remain on the table\u201d for Ofcom, which has the power to impose huge fines or to restrict access to a site.<\/p>\n

The decision by the women and equalities committee is the first significant move by a Westminster organisation to exit X. It is understood the committee took the decision at a meeting on Wednesday. It will keep its X account, which has about 27,000 followers, in existence but dormant, to ensure no one else can take it over.<\/p>\n

While the decision concerns only the committee\u2019s account, some individual members, including Owen, have already stopped using X. Another, the Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine, said she was leaving the platform, calling the images generated by Grok \u201cthe last straw\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jardine said she had taken the view that X was a good way to communicate with constituents. \u201cBut I cannot in all conscience continue to use a platform which seems unwilling to act against this grossly offensive and abusive online behaviour towards women and girls,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Owen also plans to write to the Cabinet Office and to Ofcom to urge action against X. She said: \u201cI personally came off X in 2024 after the platform and its owner promoted and paid creators of far-right racist and misogynistic material. The committee heard at the end of last year on inquiries about community cohesion that X posts regularly break UK law on hate speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn recent days, X and xAI have allowed the creation and sharing of AI deepfakes, non-consensual intimate imagery, and child sexual abuse material \u2013 all areas identified as online violence against women and girls by our committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not view it as appropriate to use such a platform to share our work. I hope that the government, Ofcom and relevant law enforcement agencies work quickly to make X immediately abide by UK law on online safety and non-consensual intimate image abuse, to be held to account for its failures and if it refuses to abide by our laws, it must be appropriately sanctioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Ofcom said it was aware of serious concerns raised about Grok creating images of undressed people and sexualised images of children. It said it had contacted X and xAI \u201cto understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK\u201d and would assess the need for an investigation based on the company\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s spokesperson said: \u201cWhat we have seen on Grok is a disgrace. It is completely unacceptable. No one should have to go through the ordeal of deepfakes of themselves online, and we won\u2019t allow the proliferation of these demeaning images.<\/p>\n

\u201cX needs to deal with this urgently, and Ofcom has our full backing to take enforcement action wherever firms are failing to protect UK users. It already has the power to issue fines of up to billions of pounds and even stop access to a site that is violating the law. And when it comes to keeping people safe online, all options remain on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the issue, Kemi Badenoch\u2019s spokesperson said the Conservative leader agreed with the government: \u201cWe both find it absolutely abhorrent and want to see it clamped down upon as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if this could mean Badenoch, an enthusiastic user of X who has 350,000 followers, might leave the platform, the spokesperson said: \u201cWe are very clear that what is happening with those Grok deepfakes is absolutely disgusting and there has to be some something done to stop that. I\u2019m not about to announce policy here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier on Wednesday, Nigel Farage was asked if he was happy to earn money from a site that had a business model based in part on child sexual abuse material. The Reform UK leader is paid for engagement on the site as a much-followed verified user.<\/p>\n

Farage avoided the question but said he was \u201cvery worried\u201d about the images and he believed X would listen to the criticism.<\/p>\n

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