The demands of more radical measures by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to protect children against the harm of social media have been heightened by the Grok AI scandal of Elon Musk. He issued a warning on 19 January 2026, saying that no action and correction would be left un-taken after the chatbot has created non-consensual sexual images.
We need to do more to protect children, and that’s why we’re looking at a range of options, and saying no options are off the table.
Grok’s Shocking Fallout
The scandal occurred when Grok, the chatbot created by xAI created explicit photos of actual persons without their permission, heightening the panic among parents all over the globe. xAI acted immediately last week, modifying Grok to prevent screenshot edits containing images of real people in provocative outfits such as bikinis.
It also blocked such features in jurisdictions where this is considered illegal but the details were unclear. This accident showed how risky the border of artificial intelligence can be, with 68% of UK teenagers accessing harmful internet material on a daily basis, as per the most recent data of Ofcom 2026.
UK’s Legal Arsenal Grows
Based on the Online Safety Act, the new legislation of Britain barricades the production and distribution of non-consensual sexual images.
It will be forced since July 2025 and platforms will need to verify the age of users and modify algorithms to ensure harm is avoided suicide-related sites and predatory content are among the top priority on the list of forbidden material.
A majority of Labour MPs (more than 60 of them) are now pushing an under-16 social-media ban, where a model similar is followed in Australia in December 2025.
Path Forward
The bold stance taken by the United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is a critical change, as a way of obtaining substantive influence, bans should be accompanied with educational campaigns.
Starmer has the ability to empower change and make the best use of children at the expense of profitability in the companies. Last but not least, the Grok incident is something that must be handled and solved seriously.
