Canada isn’t planning to ban X (Twitter) over concerns regarding sexualized deepfakes on the platform.
AI minister Evan Solomon confirmed the news on X on Sunday. “Contrary to media reports, Canada is not considering a ban of X,” he posted. He was quoting his own post from a few days prior in which he condemned “deepfake sexual abuse” but didn’t specifically name X.
The social media platform has come under fire in recent days for allowing users to use its Grok AI tool to create and share unauthorized images of undressed women and underage girls, the latter of which is known as child sexual abuse material (or CSAM).
Despite significant criticism, X has only responded by blaming users for prompting Grok to create this content and limiting Grok image creation to premium subscriptions. However, these members can still produce CSAM and other inappropriate photos, and now, X further profits from it through paying customers.
And of course, X’s owner, the ever irresponsible and juvenile Elon Musk, hasn’t addressed these concerns, despite constantly posting on the platform. Instead, he’s made multiple posts lately praising Grok in between his usual insipid political posts, including white supremacist nonsense.
It should be noted that this kind of deepfake imagery goes against not only X’s own policies, but those of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. And yet, the app marketplaces haven’t taken any action, either.
All the while, various countries have been investigating X, with Malaysia and Indonesia saying they will block access to Grok. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a ban of X is being considered, with UK communications regulator Ofcom saying there has been “deeply concerning reports” of Grok sharing photos of undressed people, including “sexualized images of children.” X is also under scrutiny in France, India and Brazil.
Given all of that, Canada’s inaction so far is certainly disappointing. When asked by The Canadian Press whether any alternatives besides a ban are being considered, a spokesperson for Solomon simply said more information will be coming soon. It remains to be seen if and when the Canadian government will actually do anything about X.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Evan Solomon (@EvanLSolomon)
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