The UK's online safety regulator considered going to court over Grok. Ofcom weighed seeking an urgent court order over sexualized AI deepfakes generated with X's chatbot Grok, but the legal threshold prevented immediate intervention, Ofcom chief executive Melanie Dawes told lawmakers on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, MLex reports.

Dawes was speaking at a parliamentary evidence session. TSN reports it was a House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing on "The work of Ofcom," with Ofcom chair Sir Ian Cheshire also giving evidence. According to MLex, Dawes called for changes to the Online Safety Act's interim "business disruption" powers and defended the pace of Ofcom's investigation into X. TSN noted that no transcript had been published when it checked.

What a court order could have done

Business disruption measures are the Online Safety Act's heaviest tool. In the most serious cases of ongoing non-compliance, Ofcom can apply to a court for an order, on an interim or full basis, requiring payment providers or advertisers to withdraw their services from a platform, or requiring internet providers to block a site in the UK. A court can only impose those orders where "appropriate and proportionate to prevent significant harm to individuals in the UK," Ofcom says, as quoted by TSN.

If an investigation finds a company broke the law, Ofcom can fine it up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.

Where the X investigation stands

  • Opened Jan. 12, 2026, after reports that the Grok account on X was used to create and share demeaning sexual deepfakes of real people, including children.
  • Narrowed on Oct. 14: in its latest update, Ofcom said X changed its service so content labelled as pornography is consistently restricted for accounts that haven't completed age checks. Ofcom is now focusing the rest of the investigation on X's illegal-content duties and its complaints and reporting duties, while still monitoring age checks.
  • No finding yet: if Ofcom has reasonable grounds to believe X failed its duties, its next step would be a provisional view, which X can respond to before any final decision.

Grok is built by xAI, now part of SpaceX. For more on the company's other legal fights, see our story on the NAACP lawsuit over xAI's Colossus 2 turbines.