'Crackdown On Illegal Content': UK Brings AI Chatbots Under Online Safety Rules

Last Updated:February 16, 2026, 19:42 IST

UK expands Online Safety Act to regulate AI chatbots after Grok was used for sexualised deepfakes. Providers must prevent illegal content, says Starmer.

The UK government on Monday said it would include AI chatbots in online safety, weeks after Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok was used to create deepfakes.

According to AFP, the providers of chatbots will be responsible for preventing them from generating illegal or harmful content, extending rules that currently apply only to content shared between users on social media.

“The new measures announced today include crackdown on vile illegal content created by AI," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement ahead of a speech on the matter Monday.

Also Read: Backlash Forces Elon Musk’s Grok To Stop Creating Undressed Images Of Real People On X

“The government will move fast to shut a legal loophole and force all AI chatbot providers to abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law," he said.

This comes following an international backlash against Grok for allowing people to create and share sexualised pictures of women and children using simple text prompts.

According to AFP, under the Online Safety Act, which entered force in July, platforms hosting potentially harmful content are required to implement strict age verification through tools such as facial imagery or credit card checks.

The Act also states that it is illegal for sites to create or share non-consensual intimate images, or child sexual abuse material, including sexual deepfakes created with AI.

In January, the UK media regulator Ofcom launched a formal investigation into X, owned by Elon Musk, over the misuse of its AI chatbot Grok’s image generation feature to create sexualised deepfake content.

Also Read: UK Media Regulator Probes Elon Musk’s X Over Grok AI’s Sexual Deepfake Images

In a statement, Ofcom said it had received “deeply concerning reports" that the Grok AI chatbot account on X was being used to generate and circulate undressed images of individuals.

According to AFP, Ofcom has noted that not all AI chatbots are regulated under the Online Safety Act, including those which “only allow people to interact with the chatbot itself and no other users".

“Technology moves on so quickly that the legislation struggles to keep up, which is why, for AI bots… we need to take the necessary measures," Starmer said on Monday.

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