Britain Threatened With US Sanctions if UK Bans Elon Musk’s X

The US could slap Britain with sanctions if Labour move to ban Elon Musk’s platform X, with lawmakers promising “there will be consequences”.

Downing Street has threatened a crackdown on the social media network over the creation of sexualised AI images on the site.

Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican congresswoman and a President Donald Trump ally, declared she would advance legislation targeting the country and the Prime Minister personally if any ban proceeds.

Posting on X itself, Ms Luna wrote: “If Starmer is successful in banning X in Britain, I will move forward with legislation that is currently being drafted to sanction not only Starmer, but Britain as a whole.

She stated this would “mirror actions previously taken by the United States in response to foreign governments restricting the platform”, referencing sanctions imposed on a Brazilian judge who temporarily blocked X in 2024.

These US measures included “tariffs, visa revocations, and sanctions and consequences tied to free speech concerns”.

“Starmer should reconsider this course of action, or there will be consequences,” Ms Luna warned.

“Let’s be clear: this is not about technical compliance. This is a political war against Elon Musk and free speech—nothing more,” the US lawmaker added.

The British Government’s threat to ban X emerged following widespread outrage over the site’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, which users have exploited to digitally strip clothing from photographs of women and place them in sexualised positions without consent.

The Prime Minister condemned the development, declaring: “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting. And it’s not to be tolerated.”

“X has got to get a grip of this. Ofcom has our full support to take action in relation to this. This is wrong. It’s unlawful. We’re not going to tolerate it. I’ve asked for all options to be on the table,” he added.

Officials are now examining whether such content breaches the Online Safety Act, which empowers regulators to levy substantial fines or prohibit applications entirely.

Addressing the row over Grok, Ms Luna said: “There are always technical bugs during the early phases of new technology, especially AI, and those issues are typically addressed quickly. X treats these matters seriously and acts promptly.”

Sarah B Rogers, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, called on the UK to pursue a “better” approach than blunt restrictions.

“Deepfakes are a troubling, frontier issue that call for tailored, thoughtful responses. Erecting a ‘great firewall’ to ban X, or lobotomising AI, is neither tailored not thoughtful. We stand ready to work with the UK on better ideas,” she told GB News.

In response to the controversy, X restricted Grok’s image generation capabilities to paying subscribers only.

However, Downing Street swiftly rejected this measure as wholly inadequate.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said the change “simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service”.

“It’s not a solution. In fact, it’s insulting to the victims of misogyny and sexual violence,” the spokesman continued.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party is continuing to discuss whether to abandon X altogether.

Anna Turley, the party’s chairman, confirmed on Friday that “conversations taking place” about Labour departing the platform.

She said: “We have the online safety powers; we need to make sure they are used, and Ofcom has the full support of the Prime Minister.”

A No10 spokesman reiterated on Friday that “all options” remained under consideration, stating: “As we’ve set out on a number of occasions, all options are on the table. We must stop these abhorrent images being made on Grok, and we will prioritise action on this.”