Labour MP Jess Asato launches legal action over Grok deepfakes

Labour MP Jess Asato is taking legal action against Elon Musk’s xAI after its Grok chatbot was used to non-consensually fabricate sexualised images of her, marking the first ever English law claim against the generation of deepfakes.

In a claim submitted to the High Court in London at the start of June 2026, Asato alleged that xAI – now a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, which also owns X (formerly Twitter) – breached UK data protection law and rules around the misuse of private information in allowing users of the site to create non-consensual deepfake images and videos of her.

Asato’s claim will seek damages from xAI and attempt to set a precedent that technology companies be held responsible for their design choices and the harms of the systems they create.

“Grok created deepfake pornography and sexualised content which harmed thousands of women and children,” she said. “Its ability is not an accident, nor misuse, it is a design choice by its creators. In launching this case, I am pursuing accountability for those choices.

“I hope this legal action also gives voice to the thousands of victims in the UK, women, girls and horrifically even children who were abused by Grok. I am calling on anyone in the UK who experienced the misuse of their image or video by Grok to come forward and support our legal claim.”

Ravi Naik, the legal director of legal firm AWO who is representing Asato, added that, “at its heart, this case is about a single principle – that AI developers must answer for the way they design their tools…No one should be subjected to abuse like this, and no one should have to instruct a lawyer to get images like these taken down.”

He added while the firm has already secured the removal of the offending images, it is now seeking redress and accountability for Asato. “This content existed because of design choices made by xAI, and technology of this kind does not simply happen – it is built and it is built deliberately,” said Naik.

“Grok was designed in a way that permitted the creation of non-consensual, sexualised and misogynistic images of women – and that outcome was a choice, not a glitch. This is one of the first claims to test liability for the design of an AI system, and we hope it will make it clear to AI developers that safety cannot be an afterthought.”

Asato’s case has since been backed by more than 100 campaigners and organisations – including Women’s Aid, Refuge, Rape Crisis England & Wales, the Fawcett Society, the Mental Health Foundation and the Molly Rose Foundation – which have published a joint statement backing the MP.

“We hope that this will be a first step towards accountability for those responsible and that it will open a path to redress for the many, many other victims who have suffered,” they said. “Researchers found that in an 11-day period – from the start of December 29th 2025 to the end of January 8th 2026 – Grok generated an estimated 3 million non-consensual sexualised images of women and children, which were widely disseminated on X, causing untold harm. 

Technology of this kind does not simply happen – it is built and it is built deliberately

“To date, there has been no justice for any of the victims. We believe that xAI must be held legally accountable to ensure that no AI tool or social media platform can ever repeat such awful harms against women, children or anyone.”

The UK government previously condemned X in January 2026 after Grok was used to produce vast quantities of sexualised images based on real women, and in some cases children, with senior politicians claiming the company “is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online”.

The media regulator, Ofcom, then launched a formal inquiry the same month, saying it would work to establish whether X has failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act.

Among the areas of investigation is an assessment of the risk of people in the UK seeing content that is illegal in the UK, and whether X is taking appropriate steps to prevent people in the UK from seeing “priority” illegal content such as non-consensual intimate images. The investigation will also look at how quickly X takes down illegal content when it is made aware of it, and how it is protecting users from a breach of privacy laws.

With regards to protecting children, Ofcom said the investigation will also assess the risk the Grok AI service poses to UK children, and the effectiveness of X to use age assurance to protect UK children from seeing pornography.

In a post on X from 9 January 2026, Musk said the UK wants “any excuse for censorship”.

Computer Weekly contacted xAI about Asato’s legal action, as well as Ofcom’s investigation, but received no response.

Emma Pickering, head of technology-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment at Refuge, the charity which provides specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence, previously called for tech companies to be held accountable for implementing effective safeguards and preventing perpetrators from causing harm.

“Legislation to criminalise creating, or requesting the creation of, non-consensual deepfake intimate images has progressed through Parliament, but we are still waiting for the law to come into effect,” she said.

While the sharing of real and synthetic intimate images without consent is illegal in the UK, she pointed out that in practice, the law is not being effectively enforced, with woefully low conviction rates.