Elon Musk's Grok creates child sexual abuse images. Why won't the Government log off for good? writes Natasha Devon

The (inexplicable) defenders of this practice claim it is harmless because users are 'just putting women in bikinis'. Aside from whether we should find this acceptable if the woman in question hasn't consented (and how dangerous this could be for women who come from countries and cultures where partially nude online images have serious consequences), this is absolutely not the case.

The Internet Watchdog Foundation has confirmed they have found sexualised pictures of children which appear to have been created using Grok. Men have also used Grok to create images of women in degrading scenarios, including giving instructions to make them 'look scared' as they are tied up in the boots of cars.

The Times reported that a picture was generated of Bella Wallersteiner, a descendant of holocaust survivors, wearing a bikini outside Auschwitz. Grok-produced images of other Jewish women depict them in bikinis decorated with swastikas. This is not about sexual titillation – it's about humiliating and silencing women, as well as creating illegal and abusive material of children.

When X was made aware of the problem, they said they would restrict the function to 'premium' (i.e., paying) users. They sent a reminder that creating these images violates their terms and conditions and several laws. The platform's owner, Elon Musk, appeared to laugh off concerns as he shared photoshopped pictures of himself in a bikini.

Understandably, the government didn't consider this adequate and referred the matter to Ofcom, which is charged with implementing the Online Safety Act.

Musk responded by calling our government 'fascist'. Nigel Farage, who last summer was claiming that concern for women and children's safety is what motivates his hostility towards immigrants, was appalled at the notion of X being banned and started wanging on about 'free speech'.

Kemi Badenoch appeared to suggest in an interview that the matter could be resolved by implementing an Australia-style ban on under-16s accessing social media, which should be an 'adult space'.

That we have arrived at a point where it's apparently being argued that child abuse imagery should be permissible under 'free speech' or that it's okay just so long as only adults see it is an indicator of how far political discourse has fallen.

Furthermore, freedom of speech has limits in a civilised society. Free speech does not include the right to lie, incite hatred or violence, which is interesting when we consider that a recent Sky News investigation found X's algorithms were amplifying extreme and far-right content.

Crucially, freedom of speech also doesn't imply the right to a platform like X. You can say pretty much whatever you like, but you do not have an inalienable right to say it on an app which is breaking the law by facilitating abuse of women and children, or which a foreign billionaire is weaponising to interfere in British democracy.

Gone are the days when X was the place to get instant access to the latest news from politicians and journalists. Indeed, it's difficult to access anything on there anymore apart from the unhinged ramblings of radicalised incels, bot accounts and pornography.

Even if, as the government (somewhat dubiously) claim, a quarter of the country use X as their primary news source, whatever Musk and his team have done to the algorithm means they're unlikely to see anything they put out. The government should stop using X immediately - by remaining on it, they tacitly legitimise it.

If necessary, Ofcom also shouldn't hesitate to ban X in the UK. This is the first real test of the Online Safety Act, and if Ofcom can't intervene to safeguard British women and children, it is all but meaningless.

Trump has threatened consequences if we do so, but he is not our Prime Minister, and we are not the fifty-first state. If we are a country as obsessed with 'sovereignty' as the Brexit vote would suggest, we should be appalled at the idea that the efficacy of our laws depends on the whims of an unelected foreigner. Even if he is a multi-billionaire.

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Listen to Natasha Devon on Saturdays from 6-9pm on the LBC app.

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