Elon Musk’s X skipped government meeting on violence against women, minister tells LBC

Liz Kendall said she chaired a meeting with all the major tech companies on Monday morning, to discuss the issue and mark International Women's Day.

But there was no representative from Musk's social media giant present, despite concerns being raised by ministers about the threat of AI chatbots, such as X's Grok, to women's safety.

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Speaking to Shelagh Fogarty on Call the Cabinet, Ms Kendall said: "Jess Phillips and I had a meeting to mark International Women's Day with all the tech companies, except X, who didn't come, on this issue of violence against women and girls. We spoke about the nature of algorithms that are pumping information to people, just because they know your age and gender. I think it's a really important thing."

X's absence comes after it was revealed that Grok could produce racist rants if asked for "vulgar" comments by users in a sick new trend.

Asked why she thought no one from X came to the meeting, Ms Kendall said: "I don't know why they didn't come, but they are always welcome to come and discuss what more they need to do to keep women and girls safe.

"I think there should have been someone there. I'm sure there could have been someone from the company who could have come. Hopefully they will next time."

It comes after the UK government described the latest Grok trend as "sickening and irresponsible", saying they go against British values.

Streams of public posts on X showed vile AI-generated replies filled with racist vitriol about Islam and Hinduism, along with false claims about the Hillsborough disaster and Munich air crash.

Users are able to access these responses by asking Grok to generate "vulgar" and no-holds-barred comments.

It comes two months after the social media giant was threatened with being banned in Britain for producing sexualised images of women being undressed.

Grok has also been found falsely blaming Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which led to the deaths of 97 fans, and using derogatory language about the city.

Liverpool FC said it is trying to get the post removed.

Manchester United have also reported to X vulgar comments about the 1958 Munich air disaster, which killed 23 people, including eight players.

Many of these hateful posts have been deleted, but no changes to protections against online harm have been announced regarding Grok being asked to be "vulgar".

If X is found not to comply with the Online Safety Act, Ofcom can issue a fine of up to 10% of its worldwide revenue or £18m.

In the most extreme case, court approval to block the site could be sought.

Ms Kendall said she was concerned about AI chatbots such as Grok, as some of their actions were not currently covered by the online safety act, which was drawn up in October 2023.

"One of the things i've been really worried about are these AI chatbots. It's a new development, and not all of them are covered by the Online Safety Act.

"I'm really concerned about those and I will legislate to fill that gap for children and for adults as well."

LBC have approached X for a comment.