Generating sexual images of individuals without their consent, including those created using artificial intelligence, will become a criminal offence in the United Kingdom this week, the government has confirmed.
The Science and Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, made the announcement in the House of Commons on Monday, January,12 2026.
This follows widespread public anger over the misuse of Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok.
The controversy erupted after male users on Musk’s social media platform X were found to be prompting the AI tool to digitally remove clothing from images of individuals.
Women and children were reportedly among those targeted by the so-called “AI undressing” trend.
Two UK cabinet ministers were also said to have fallen victim to the practice, while Catherine, Princess of Wales (Kate Middleton) was named among high-profile figures whose images were manipulated.
In response to the backlash, Musk later restricted access to Grok’s image-generation features.
It allows only verified users, whose real identities are linked to their accounts, to create deepfake images.
However, he appeared to downplay the severity of the issue by generating an image of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a bikini
He suggested the restrictions amounted to an attack on free speech.
Addressing Parliament, Kendall stated that the offence of creating sexual images without consent would be introduced under the Data (Use and Access) Act.
The act was passed by Parliament last year.
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She also revealed that so-called “nudification” apps would be banned under the government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill.
The bill is currently progressing through the legislative process.
