The United Kingdom government is leading a legal crackdown against AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok to make the internet safer for children.
This comes after AI and social media came under fire for the potential to harm young people following the Grok chatbot generating sexualised images of women and children for weeks on X.
This led to Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot coming under investigation by the European Commission.
“The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.”
In the release, the UK government said chatbots will need to abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law.
It will also seek new legal powers designed to fast-track future protections for children’s well-being online.
This would allow the government to act quickly on measures like setting a minimum age of 16 for social media use, similar to laws seen in Australia and Spain.
In January, the UK already launched a consultation on banning social media for under-16s.
Additionally, the country’s House of Lords, an unelected upper legislative chamber, voted last month to amend the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to include a social media ban for under-16s.
The next step would be for the bill to be reviewed by the parliament’s House of Commons, where both houses would have to agree on any changes before they pass into law.
