UK Orders Social Media Firms To Remove Abusive Images Within 48 Hours Of Receiving Alert

Last Updated:February 19, 2026, 16:22 IST

UK PM announced social media firms must remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours, targeting misuse of AI tools like Grok and addressing violence against women.

Days after the UK government said AI chatbots in online safety rules, it said the technology firms will be required to remove non-consensual sexual images within 48 hours after being alerted.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The sharing of non-consensual intimate images is utterly abhorrent. That’s why when we learnt people were using AI tool Grok to make vile images, we moved quickly to get it stopped."

“Today, we are going further. We are putting social media companies on notice to take down any non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours. I know there’s more to do. Violence against women and girls has no place in our society. We must root it out," he added.

According to the new rules, victims will be able to flag the images directly with tech firms or with Ofcom – which would trigger an alert across multiple platforms, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

After this, Ofcom will be responsible for enforcing the ban on the images. The new rule is aimed to remove the onus on victims to need to report the same image if it is continually reposted.

Also Read: ‘Crackdown On Illegal Content’: UK Brings AI Chatbots Under Online Safety Rules

The media regulator will be told to explore ways for “revenge porn" images to have a digital watermark to allow them to be automatically flagged every time they are reposted, The Guardian reported.

The PM further stated that internet providers will also be given guidance on how to block rogue sites who specialise in hosting nonconsensual real or AI-generated explicit content.

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.

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

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.

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