Ofcom has warned Elon Musk’s X it is still failing to effectively tackle illegal hate and terrorist content despite improvements in how quickly the platform responds to reports.
The UK watchdog said on Wednesday that X’s first quarterly performance report showed it was meeting agreed deadlines for reviewing suspected illegal material, but raised concerns about whether the content was actually being removed.
“We have ongoing concerns around the effectiveness of X’s response to taking down illegal hate and terror content”, Ofcom said.
The update comes as the regulator continues its investigation into X over the use of its Grok AI chatbot to generate and share sexualised deepfakes of real people, including children.
In May, X committed to reviewing suspected illegal hate and terrorist content reported through its dedicated UK reporting tool within an average of 24 hours. It also agreed to assess at least 85 per cent of reports within 48 hours over a three-month period.
Ofcom said X’s latest figures appeared to show improvements compared with evidence gathered earlier this year, with the platform meeting both targets.
However, the regulator said it would cross-check the figures against its own testing and expected X to maintain its performance.
It also reported mixed evidence about whether X was consistently working with independent experts to improve its moderation systems.
Ofcom expects to publish a further assessment early next year.
Grok investigation continues
The watchdog also provided an update on its investigation into Grok, launched in January after reports that the chatbot was being used to produce non-consensual sexual images of women and children.
Ofcom said it had gathered extensive evidence using its formal powers and was now assessing whether X had breached its duties under the Online Safety Act.
The investigation is looking into how X assessed the risks of illegal content appearing on its platform, whether users could easily report it and how the company handled moderation decisions.
If Ofcom finds reasonable grounds to believe X breached the law, it will issue provisional findings before giving the company an opportunity to respond.
The regulator also revealed that its investigation had uncovered circumstances in which pornography remained accessible to X accounts that had not been verified as belonging to adults.
X has since introduced changes to ensure content labelled as pornography is restricted to accounts that have completed its age verification checks.
The update comes amid growing tensions between the regulator and major tech companies over the implementation of Britain’s online safety laws.
X, Meta and Tiktok have recently challenged aspects of Ofcom’s information-gathering powers in court, while Meta has separately contested how the regulator calculates fees and penalties.
Under the Online Safety Act, companies found in breach of their duties can face fines of up to £18m or 10 per cent of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.