Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS has announced her departure from social media platform X, following news of its AI feature being used to generate inappropriate images of women and children.

The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, is owned by Elon Musk and recently saw users having their images used without their consent to generate explicit or sexually suggestive AI generated images with the platforms inbuilt AI feature, Grok AI. The software was freely available to all of X’s users, until Musk put the image generation part of Grok behind a paywall.

Taking to the social media site X to announce her departure, Jane Dodds said: “I have decided to leave X. Recent events, including the Grok controversy, were the final straw. They underlined just how far the platform has moved away from being a space for serious, good faith discussion.

“I want to spend my time engaging with people in places that value facts, respect and constructive debate, and I will continue doing that across other platforms and in communities across Wales.”

In response to the generated images, X said in a statement: “We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary. Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”

Elon Musk said: “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”

The UK plans to bring in a law which will make it illegal to create non-consensual intimate images. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said X could lose the right to “self regulate.”

Grok’s feature responds to users questions when they are tagged in a post, often giving reactions or context to an existing post.

It is currently illegal to share intimate and non-consensual deepfakes of adults in the UK. The UK's online regulator Ofcom has launched an investigation to see if Grok AI has broken online safety laws, but Musk believes this is infringing freedom of speech. If found to have broken the law, Ofcom could issue X with a fine of up to 10% of its worldwide revenue or £18 million, whichever is greater.