Ofcom published an update on 14 October 2026 on its investigation into X, and it is a mixed bag: the platform’s first quarterly report on illegal hate and terror content shows it hitting its own takedown targets, but the regulator says it still isn’t convinced the content is actually coming down — and its open investigation into X’s Grok chatbot, launched after reports that it was used to generate sexual deepfakes of real people including children, is still live with no findings yet.
Why it matters to creators
If you use X to tease content, run a free page, or DM links to your OnlyFans or Fansly, this is the platform’s compliance file being built in real time. Ofcom’s findings shape whether X keeps tightening automated moderation around adult-adjacent accounts (which can catch legitimate creators in the crossfire), and the Grok restrictions are a direct, practical update on how exposed you are to being deepfaked by a tool sitting inside the app you already use.
What Ofcom actually found
Under commitments X made in May 2026, it agreed to review suspected illegal hate and terrorist content reported through its UK reporting tool within an average of 24 hours, and to assess at least 85% of reports within 48 hours over a rolling three-month period. X’s first quarterly data, covering the period since, shows it meeting both targets — an improvement on the evidence Ofcom had seen earlier in the year.
That’s the good news. The regulator was blunt about the rest: “We have ongoing concerns around the effectiveness of X’s response to taking down illegal hate and terror content,” Ofcom told reporters. In plain terms: X is reviewing reports on time, but Ofcom isn’t satisfied the reviews are resulting in the content actually being removed. It also said evidence on whether X is consistently working with independent experts, as it committed to, is “mixed.” A further assessment is due in early 2027.
The Grok investigation, and what’s changed
Ofcom opened a separate investigation into X in January 2026 after reports that its Grok AI chatbot was being used to create and share non-consensual sexual images of real people, including children. That probe is examining three things under the Online Safety Act: how X assessed the risk of illegal content on the platform, how easy it is for users to report it, and how moderation decisions were actually made. Ofcom’s own update confirms no findings have been published yet — if it concludes X had reasonable grounds to have breached its duties, it must issue a provisional view and give X a chance to respond before any final decision, and potentially a fine of up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue, whichever is greater.
What has already moved, under Ofcom’s pressure, sits with the standalone Grok product run by SpaceXAI (formerly xAI) rather than X the platform. Since January, it has blocked the generation and viewing of images of real people in “revealing attire” such as bikinis, restricted UK IP addresses from generating, viewing or sharing pornographic images through its tools (in-app or via shared links), and stopped its companion chatbots, including one called “Ani,” from having sexually explicit conversations with UK users. Ofcom also found X itself was letting accounts that hadn’t completed age checks see age-gated pornographic material; X says that’s now fixed, with the content restricted to verified adult accounts.
This runs alongside, but is distinct from, the US legal fight over AI “nudification” tools — xAI is currently appealing a Minnesota law banning the practice, a case being fought in American courts under the First Amendment rather than through a UK regulator.
Why this is actually good news for your protection
It’s easy to read “Ofcom investigates X” as background noise, but the practical result is that one of the biggest, most accessible AI image tools on the open web can no longer be used, from the UK, to generate a realistic sexualised image of you without your consent — a tool that previously required no special access and could be pointed at anyone’s public photos. That’s a meaningful dent in the deepfake-and-leak risk creators already juggle, on top of existing UK criminal offences around non-consensual intimate images and nudification specifically, which came into force under the Crime and Policing Act.
The flip side is that X remains under active scrutiny as a Category 1 platform under the Online Safety Act, which means its moderation posture — and the accounts that get caught in it — can keep shifting with little warning. An account that’s fine today promoting a subscription page in its bio could be swept up in a future enforcement push, regardless of whether it’s actually breaking any rule.
What to do now
- If you’ve found a sexualised AI image of yourself made without consent, report it through X’s dedicated UK reporting tool rather than the standard in-app flow — Ofcom is specifically tracking response times on that channel.
- Run a periodic reverse image search (Google Lens or TinEye) on your most-used promotional photos to catch nudified or deepfaked versions early, while they’re easiest to get taken down.
- Keep a dated screenshot record of anything reported, including the time you reported it — it strengthens both a platform complaint and, if needed, a police report under UK nudification law.
- Treat X as one traffic channel among several rather than your main one; its enforcement posture is actively being reshaped by regulators and could change fast.
- Check that any linked or pinned adult content on your own profile sits behind X’s own age-assurance gate, not just a content warning — Ofcom flagged this as a live gap.
This is general information, not legal advice — speak to a qualified professional about your specific situation.
