UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is having a go at Elon Musk and other tech bosses, warning that “no platform gets a free pass” on illegal content in the UK. The prime minister is tightening online safety laws after a deepfake mess involving xAI’s Grok chatbot.
The government wants powers to close what it calls a loophole so that AI chatbots such as Grok, Google’s Gemini, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT sit clearly within the Online Safety Act. That would put them in the same regulatory pen as social apps such as Instagram and TikTok.
UK government prime minister Sir Keir Starmer pointed at Grok, which was used this year to generate sexualised images of women and children and helped trigger an Ofcom investigation.
He said: “The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass.”
Ofcom opened its probe into X and how the Online Safety Act applies on 3 February 2026.
Ministers plan to bolt an amendment onto the crime and policing bill so they can require chatbot operators to protect users from illegal content. The UK already has significant enforcement powers under the Online Safety Act, with Ofcom able to fine firms up to £18 million (€20.7 million) or 10 per cent of global annual turnover, whichever is higher.
Starmer is also set to tell parents and young people on 16 February 2026 that “technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up”.
Ministers are chasing extra powers in the children’s wellbeing and schools bill to act “within months” on a public consultation about banning social media for under-16s.
The UK opened that consultation in January 2026, and it is due to conclude in April 2026, keeping the ban chatter alive as Australia’s under-16 move lights fires elsewhere. France is edging towards legislation, while Spain, Greece, the Netherlands and Denmark have all said they want to push kids off social platforms.
The Lords added to the pressure last month by backing an amendment that would force social media platforms to block under-16s within one year.
Alongside all that, the government is eyeing ways to curb children using virtual private networks to dodge safeguards, including age checks for VPN services or widening compliance duties for the providers that make bypassing easy.
