Female Labour Members of Parliament are expressing outrage over the government’s omission of Grok from new initiatives aimed at curbing the spread of sexualised deepfakes online, according to information obtained by the Daily Mail.
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister committed to taking decisive action against X after the platform’s AI tool, Grok, was used by online trolls to generate manipulated images of MPs in bikinis, as well as sexually explicit images involving children.
During a session in the House of Commons, Sir Keir vehemently criticized Grok, labeling it as “disgusting.” He assured that the government would fortify existing laws and consider new legislation if necessary to address the issue.
In response, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced that the government plans to prohibit nudification tools through forthcoming amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently at the report stage in the House of Lords.
However, Labour’s female MPs are incensed by what they perceive as an incomplete ban, as it would only apply to UK-based applications, leaving those from other countries unaffected.
One Labour MP expressed concerns to the Daily Mail, noting that backbenchers are worried the proposed ban will only target UK products, thus failing to impact Grok. The MP warned that such limitations would not sufficiently protect women and children.
This comes as polling from YouGov and CARE International UK released today shows that less than four in ten adults in the UK believe that the Labour government cares about the rights of women and girls.
Ms Kendall previously warned that Grok may not be covered by the proposals – despite it generating around three million sexualised images in less than two weeks, including 23,000 appearing to depict children.
In January, Sir Keir (pictured on March 2) promised to take ‘necessary measures’ against X after social media trolls used its AI tool ‘Grok’ to create manipulated images of MPs in bikinis and sexually explicit images of children
Sir Keir branded Elon Musk’s (pictured in 2026) Grok ‘disgusting’ and said the government would ‘strengthen existing laws’ and ‘prepare for legislation if it needs to go further’
Tech Secretary Liz Kendall (pictured) said the government would ban nudification tools through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, currently at report stage in the Lords
In a letter to the Labour MP Chi Onwurah, the Tech Secretary wrote the government has ‘identified that not all chatbots are covered’ and she has ‘commissioned officials to look at how this gap can be addressed’.
But speaking on Monday in the Lords, Conservative peer Baroness Bertin warned the government’s legislation would ‘bring no change whatever’ as the changes would not capture software overseas.
‘I believe this legislation would also not have caught Grok. The regulation must go further. Many MPs have been in touch wanting us to get clarity on this point,’ she said.
‘It is wrong to announce that you have banned something when you potentially have not.
‘We have to be really clear on that, because otherwise we have the worst of all worlds.’
Claire Coutinho, shadow equalities minister said: ‘This is yet another example of Labour talking tough but failing to deliver.
‘By refusing to act on overseas platforms, they are leaving glaring loopholes that predators will exploit. Offering tools to create deepfake nudes must be banned in the UK regardless of where the company is based.’
Baroness Bertin later told the Daily Mail that Grok was ‘the tip of the iceberg’ as the majority of sexualised deepfake images come from Chinese apps.
Despite this, the government on Monday night imposed a three-line whip on peers in the Lords to vote against Conservative amendments aiming to further regulate the pornography industry.
The bill will return to the Commons just before the local elections, where Labour is expected to cede huge numbers of local council seats to Reform and the Green Party.
Looking ahead, Baroness Bertin said she would be ‘deeply uncomfortable’ if she were a Labour MP, who may be whipped ‘to vote against banning step incest porn and porn that depicts sex with children’.
The government appearing to weaken measures to protect women and girls online comes as Sir Keir has been blasted for running a ‘boy’s club’ in No 10.
It comes after a string of scandals within Downing Street that led Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to complain of Labour briefings ‘dripping with misogyny’.
A government spokesperson said: ‘This government is taking robust action to protect women and girls from intimate image abuse, no matter where a platform is based.
‘We are making the creation of non-consensual sexual deepfakes a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, so services must proactively stop this content appearing.
‘We are also criminalising nudification apps, targeting those who profit from the distress of others. Social media and search services will be required to remove content promoting these tools.
‘Deepfakes are created through a wide range of AI tools, which is why we are closing loopholes so more chatbots have legal duties to protect users from illegal content. Our message is clear: Intimate image abuse will not be tolerated.’
