Ofcom warns X over illegal content despite moderation improvements

Ofcom has cautioned Elon Musk’s social media platform X about ongoing issues with removing illegal hate and terrorist content, despite recent progress in their response times. The UK regulator's statement on Wednesday revealed that while X is meeting its deadlines for examining suspected illegal material, doubts persist over whether the content is actually being removed.

Ofcom expressed ongoing concerns regarding the platform's effectiveness in eliminating illegal hate and terror content. The regulator's warning comes as X faces scrutiny over the use of its AI chatbot, Grok, to generate and share sexualized deepfakes, including those of children. In May, X had promised to review suspected illegal content within an average of 24 hours and assess at least 85% of reports within 48 hours over three months.

Ofcom noted that recent data showed improvements in meeting these targets, but plans to validate the figures through its own testing, expecting X to maintain its performance. The regulator also found mixed evidence on X's consistent collaboration with independent experts to enhance its moderation systems. Ofcom anticipates releasing a further assessment early next year.

Additionally, the watchdog shared updates on its investigation into Grok, initiated in January after reports of the chatbot being used to create non-consensual sexual images of women and children. Ofcom is evaluating whether X breached its Online Safety Act duties, scrutinizing risk assessments, reporting ease, and moderation decision handling.

Should Ofcom find reasonable grounds to believe X violated the law, it will issue provisional findings before providing X with an opportunity to respond. The regulator uncovered instances where pornography was accessible to unverified X accounts. X has since made adjustments to restrict pornography to accounts that have completed its age verification process.

This development occurs amid escalating tensions between Ofcom and major tech firms over the implementation of Britain’s online safety laws. X, along with Meta and Tiktok, have recently contested certain aspects of Ofcom’s investigative powers in court, while Meta has separately challenged the regulator's method of calculating fees and penalties.

Under the Online Safety Act, companies found non-compliant face fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their global revenue, whichever is higher.