As of January 13, 2026, provisions of the Data (Use and Access) Act have taken effect in the UK, making the creation of intimate deepfakes without consent a criminal offense. The law was passed against the backdrop of the Grok AI scandal, in which the tool was used to generate sexualized images, and it closes an important gap in the country's criminal system.
At the same time, under the Online Safety Act, the media regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation into the X platform over a possible breach of digital rules. The UK is among the first countries in the world to recognize the act of creating deepfakes as a crime, even if they are never published.
International reaction followed as well: Malaysia and Indonesia blocked Grok, India is investigating X, France, Spain and the EU are strengthening regulation, and in the US, the existing TAKE IT DOWN law, which requires such deepfakes to be removed, has been joined by DEFIANCE, which provides civil protection for victims.
