TL;DR

The UK government will force AI chatbot providers to comply with illegal content duties under the Online Safety Act or face fines of up to 10% of global revenue. The move closes a loophole exposed when Ofcom found it lacked powers to act against Grok for generating sexualised images.

Closing a Known Loophole

The Online Safety Act already covers AI chatbots used as search engines, to produce pornography, or in user-to-user contexts. But chatbots can currently generate content that encourages self-harm or even produce child sexual abuse material without facing regulatory sanction. That gap has been known for more than two years.

The catalyst for action was Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot, which was used to create sexualised images of women and children. Ofcom admitted it lacked the powers to act because images created by a chatbot without internet searching fall outside the existing law. The government says the change could happen within weeks.

“Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up,” said PM Keir Starmer. “Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk.”

Real Cases, Real Harm

The NSPCC says young people are contacting its helpline to report harms caused by AI chatbots. Chief executive Chris Sherwood described a case where a 14-year-old girl received inaccurate information from a chatbot after discussing her eating habits and body dysmorphia. In other cases, young people who were self-harming were “having content served up to them of more self-harming.”

“Social media has produced huge benefits for young people, but lots of harm,” Sherwood said. “AI is going to be that on steroids if we’re not careful.”

The Molly Rose Foundation, set up by the father of 14-year-old Molly Russell who died after viewing harmful content online, called the measures “a welcome downpayment” but urged the government to commit to a strengthened Online Safety Act.

Looking Forward

The government is also consulting on restricting social media for under-16s, with possible measures including banning access entirely or limiting features like infinite scrolling. Any changes could take effect as soon as this summer. Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott criticised the pace, calling the government’s consultation timeline “more smoke and mirrors.”