The government of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has started talks with Canada and Australia to ban the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) owned by Elon Musk. This step has been taken after increasing complaints of creating fake (deepfake) pictures of women and children through X’s AI tool Grok.
According to foreign media, Britain, Canada and Australia are planning a joint action on this issue, so that strong pressure can be put on Musk. If this feature of Grok is not removed, then Britain can ban X completely under the Online Safety Act.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has strongly condemned the misuse of this AI tool. He said, “People have used this tool to create images of women and children that are absolutely disgusting. This is another example of a lack of responsibility. Australians and people around the world deserve better.”
However, there has been no confirmation of the ban from Canada yet. Canadian Liberal Party MP Evan Solomon clearly stated that “Canada is not considering a ban on X.” Elon Musk has strongly opposed this action of the British government. He branded the Labor Party fascist, saying ministers were just “looking for any excuse for censorship.”
Britain’s Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said that if regulator Ofcom recommends blocking X, the government will fully support it. US Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has warned that if Britain bans X, she will introduce a proposal to impose sanctions on Keir Starmer and Britain.
Thousands of fake pictures of children and women
This controversy deepened when thousands of fake pictures made through Grok were shared on the platform, which included children and women. British Prime Minister Starmer called it disgusting and intolerable and asked Ofcom to consider all options. Now Ofcom is going to issue its recommendation in a few days.