UK to Regulate AI Chatbots Under Safety Laws

LONDON: (Web Desk) – The UK government announced on Monday that artificial intelligence chatbots will now fall under the country’s online safety regulations, a move aimed at closing a legal gap exposed by the misuse of AI tools to generate sexualised deepfake content.

Under the updated approach, chatbot providers will be legally responsible for ensuring their systems do not produce illegal or harmful material. This expands existing rules that previously focused only on content shared between users on social media platforms.

The decision comes after global criticism of Grok, an AI chatbot linked to X, which was reportedly used to generate sexualised images of women and children through simple text prompts.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government would act swiftly to eliminate loopholes in existing laws. He stated that AI chatbot companies would be required to comply with the illegal content obligations outlined in the Online Safety Act, warning that failure to do so would result in legal consequences.

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The Online Safety Act, which came into force in July, requires online platforms hosting potentially harmful material to implement robust age-verification measures, including facial recognition or payment card checks. UK law already criminalises the creation or distribution of non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated sexual deepfakes.

In January, the media regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into X over concerns it had not met its safety obligations. Separately, the UK’s data protection authority has opened a broader inquiry into X and xAI to assess whether personal data laws were breached in the creation of AI-generated deepfake images.

Ofcom has previously highlighted that certain AI chatbots were not covered by the Act, particularly those that only allow direct interaction between a user and the bot. Starmer acknowledged that rapid technological advances often outpace legislation, stressing the need for swift regulatory updates.

The Labour government is also intensifying efforts to protect children online. These include a consultation on banning social media access for under-16s and proposals to restrict addictive features such as infinite scrolling.

Despite the tighter safety stance, Starmer reiterated that the UK remains open to innovation, recalling his January 2025 pledge to cut regulatory barriers, attract major AI investment, and position Britain as a global leader in artificial intelligence.