Plans by the government to take action against deepfake pornography have been welcomed by Christian policy group CARE and by the Church of England’s lead bishop for AI and technology.
Regulator Ofcom has begun an investigation into X, saying that it had received “deeply concerning reports” that its Grok AI tool had been used to create and share images of people who had been digitally undressed, and to create “sexualised images of children”.
The government has indicated it will support any action that Ofcom takes against X, up to and including a potential ban.
Elon Musk, the high-profile owner of X, has said that the scandal is being used as an “excuse for censorship”. Musk has previously butted heads with the Starmer government, most notably during the disturbances that followed the Southport killings in 2024 and early last year when Musk took up the issue of the rape gangs scandal.
The government has said it is planning to extend a law against creating pornographic AI deepfakes of minors to those who are over 18.
CARE’s policy lead on online safety, Tim Cairns, welcomed the news but added, “In order to tackle this issue fulsomely – as this is something that is causing increasing anxiety in various areas of society – we would underline the need to expressly outlaw the artificial intelligence tools that allow sexual deepfakes to be created, which are readily available online.”
Cairns urged the government to support a bill already proposed by Conservative peer, Baroness Owen.
“We would urge Baroness Owen to amend her Bill to cover a ban on deepfake technology and ask the Government to support this ban," he said.
"Sexual deepfakes pose a particular danger to women and girls. They fuel a culture that sees women and girls dehumanised and treated as mere sex objects.
"The creation and sharing of deepfake images cause serious mental and physical distress to victims. Swift action to ban these apps would make a difference, and there can be no reasonable argument against banning them.
"No cogent argument can be put in favour of technology that creates sexualised images without a person’s consent.”
CARE’s views were echoed by the Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, who serves as co-chair of the Anglican Communion Science Commission.
He said, “From a perspective of Christian faith, all the major world faiths, and civil society, the unleashing of this capacity in Grok by X is truly appalling.
"The sexualised deepfakes of real individuals used without their consent is immensely damaging to the individuals' dignity and the dignity of our society.
“The damage is long lasting because the images are almost impossible to take down. I completely support the calls to X to withdraw the service and to Ofcom to investigate and to enforce the law.
“I support the Government’s drive to ban nudification apps through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.”
