Reddit fined £14m over children’s data protection failures February 24, 2026 Social media platform Reddit has been fined £14.47m by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after a probe found it unlawfully processed children’s personal information. The platform was also found to have failed to implement adequate age checks. The UK data protection regulator said the US-based company did not implement robust age assurance measures, meaning it [...]
Starmer orders tech giants to delete abusive content within 48 hours February 19, 2026 Tech companies will be legally required to remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours, or face heavy fines and potential UK blocks, under new measures unveiled by the Prime Minister The proposals, introduced through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, require platforms to act swiftly once content is flagged. Companies that fail to [...]
UK under-16s social media ban could land before year end February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is considering banning under-16s from social media within months, as ministers crack down on children’s online activity following a deepfake scandal on Elon Musk’s Grok. The prime minister has insisted that “no platform gets a free pass” on child safety, with a formal consultation on tougher social media protections launching in March. [...]
Starmer closes chatbot loophole in Online Safety Act February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to target AI chatbots with the UK’s Online Safety Act, warning tech titans that “no platform gets a free pass” following a deepfake scandal involving Elon Musk’s Grok. In a speech on Monday, the Prime Minister is expected to confirm plans to amend the Crime and Policing Bill, so that [...]
Liz Kendall welcomes X’s Grok changes as Ofcom probe continues January 15, 2026 The government has welcomed new safety measures introduced by Elon Musk’s X to curb abuse linked to its Grok AI tool, as the UK’s online safety regulator presses ahead with a formal investigation into the platform. Tech secretary Liz Kendall said she “welcomed” X’s move to restrict Grok’s image generation capabilities, but stressed that regulators [...]
Free countries should not be banning Twitter January 15, 2026 Obscene images generated by Grok are being used as a thinly veiled excuse by Labour to pursue a political vendetta against Elon Musk. That is the behaviour of a banana republic, not an advanced democracy like Britain, says Tom Harwood We have all watched with horror at the slithers of news that flicker through the [...]
After Grok, should the UK opt for an Australia-style social media ban? January 13, 2026 When, in December, Australia enacted a nationwide ban of social media platforms for under-16s, critics called it heavy-handed, and easy to bypass. This week, as Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok flooded the social media platform, X, with AI-generated explicit photos of women and girls, some even involving minors, that argument begins to lose its legs. [...]
Trump official warns UK on ‘Russia-style’ X ban after Grok row January 11, 2026 A key Trump administration official has sent the UK a firm warning following speculation Elon Musk’s X platform may face a ban after a scandal around AI-generated images. Sarah Rogers, under-secretary for public diplomacy at the US State Department, issued a series of messages criticising the UK on the rumoured ban. Rogers said the UK [...]
UK threatened with sanctions if Starmer blocks Musk’s X January 9, 2026 The UK has been warned it could face US sanctions if Sir Keir Starmer attempts to block Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, amid mounting concern over its AI tool generating sexualised images of women and children. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican Congresswoman and ally of Donald Trump, said she was drafting legislation that would [...]
Government urged to quit X following ‘appalling’ Grok scandal January 8, 2026 Keir Starmer has been urged to pull his government off Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, after a former cabinet minister dubbed the platform ‘unconscionable’. Labour MP Louise Haigh, former transport secretary, has warned that her party and the government should entirely quit the site. This pressure comes in the wake of this week’s reports [...]
