Diplomatic tensions have erupted between the US and UK after a senior American official accused British ministers of contemplating a "Russia-style ban" on Elon Musk's social media platform X. The confrontation centers on the UK's threat to ban the platform over its Grok AI tool producing sexualized deepfake images of women and children without consent.
Sarah Rogers, under-secretary for public diplomacy at the US State Department, warned that UK plans threaten free speech. She accused ministers of "contemplating a Russia-style X ban, to protect [women] from bikini images".
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall escalated the situation by stating the Government would back regulator Ofcom if it decided to ban X. Ofcom is conducting an expedited assessment of X and xAI regarding the production of undressed and sexualized images.
US Pushback and Congressional Threats
The row has triggered sharp reactions from US officials. Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna threatened to introduce legislation to sanction the Prime Minister and "Britain as a whole" if the UK proceeds with a ban.
Musk himself accused the UK Government of being "fascist" and attempting to suppress free speech. Responding to a message on X, he said: "They just want to suppress free speech."
International Diplomacy
UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy met with US Vice President JD Vance in the US on Thursday to discuss the crisis. Lammy told The Guardian that Vance showed understanding for Britain's position on deepfakes "and the horrendous, horrific situation in which this new technology is allowing deepfakes and the manipulation of images of women and children, which is just absolutely abhorrent".
"He agreed with me that it was entirely unacceptable," Lammy said. "I think he recognised the very seriousness with which images of women and children could be manipulated in this way, and he recognised how despicable, [and] unacceptable, that is and I found him sympathetic to that position."
Global Coordination
Downing Street reportedly considered coordinating an international response with countries including Canada and Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed calls for X to take action, describing deepfakes as "completely abhorrent" and warning that "global citizens deserve better".
Canada's minister for artificial intelligence and digital innovation, Evan Solomon, ruled out an outright ban of X but stated the Liberal government was seeking to amend legislation to outlaw intimate deepfake images without consent.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
