JD Vance agrees 'hyper-pornographic' AI images on Elon Musk's platform are 'completely unacceptable', UK deputy PM says

British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told The Guardian that US Vice President JD Vance agreed it was “completely unacceptable” for platforms like X to allow the spread of “hyperpornographic” images of women and children generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

The British official said the US vice president had raised concerns about how technology is being used to spread “hyperpornographic” images online during their meeting in Washington on Thursday.

The statements come amid criticism Elon Musk's company's chatbot Grok on X is facing for generating sexually suggestive images. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned that the US billionaire's social media platform is at risk of being banned in the UK as a result of the “illegal” and “disgusting” images.

Supporters of US President Donald Trump, including Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, have called for sanctions against the UK if it implements the ban. Elon Musk, the owner of X, wrote on the platform on Friday that the British government is “fascist” and “want any excuse for censorship”.

In an interview with The Guardian, Lammy said he brought up Grok in his discussion with Vance, suggesting the US vice president understood London's position.

“I discussed Greenland and brought up the Grok issue with him, and the horrible situation, the horrible situation where this new technology allows deepfakes and manipulation of images of women and children, which is absolutely abhorrent. He agreed with me that it's completely unacceptable,” Lammy said.

“He recognized how vile, unacceptable this is,” added the British deputy prime minister.

On Monday, the European Commission said it was “looking very seriously” into allegations about the Grok chatbot. Such images, generated by Grok's “spicy” mode, are “illegal” and “disgusting”, EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier said in press statements.