Keir Starmer’s decision to ask the media regulator Ofcom to consider the full range of sanctions against X (Twitter), including a possible nationwide ban, has prompted sharp criticism at home and abroad, with opponents accusing the Labour government of escalating an already heavy handed approach to speech regulation.
The Prime Minister said he had asked Ofcom to put “all options on the table” after AI generated images created using X’s chatbot Grok were found to include sexualised depictions of women and children, some of which may constitute illegal child sexual abuse material.
Sir Keir said: “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting and it’s not to be tolerated. X need to get their act together.”
Under the Online Safety Act, Britain has the power to fine technology companies billions of pounds or, in extreme cases, block access to entire platforms. X has around 20 million users in the UK. Ofcom has never yet used its power to seek an access restriction order, but Downing Street has confirmed the option is legally available.
Critics argue the move fits a broader pattern under Labour of aggressively policing speech. Across the United States, commentators have pointed to the UK as a country that “jails people for hurt words,” a perception reinforced by official figures showing more than 3,000 arrests last year for offences classed as malicious communications.
Recent cases have included jail sentences for online abuse, including one in which a man was imprisoned for calling a convicted rapist a “pig.” The government has also faced accusations of targeting critics overseas, after proposals to restrict visa entry for Americans accused of promoting or exposing censorship attracted international attention.
Against that backdrop, the threat to block X entirely has intensified concerns that enforcement is selective and politically motivated. Opponents question why Labour has focused so heavily on X, while other platforms hosting sexualised or abusive imagery have not faced similar public threats.
Elon Musk, who bought X in 2022, has been openly hostile to the Online Safety Act, describing it as “suppression of the people.” Supporters of Mr Musk say the law gives ministers sweeping powers to silence platforms that refuse to comply with political pressure.
The Prime Minister insists the issue is about illegality, not free speech. He told Greatest Hits Radio that the content was “unlawful” and said: “We’re not going to tolerate it.”
However, the dispute has widened into a diplomatic row with the United States. Senior US officials have warned Britain against overreach. Sarah B Rogers, the US Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, said: “Deepfakes are a troubling, frontier issue that call for tailored, thoughtful responses. Erecting a ‘Great Wall’ to ban X, or lobotomizing AI, is neither tailored nor thoughtful.”
Donald Trump has also criticised Britain’s technology rules, calling them “not a good thing,” while Republicans have accused Labour of backsliding on free expression.
Margaret Thatcher’s former aide Nile Gardiner said: “Keir Starmer is behaving like a tyrant. He is a disgrace to Britain.”
Lord Kempsell added: “If Starmer seriously attempts to ban X in the United Kingdom the backlash against him will bring down the government. It will all be over. There is no way any PM can ban this platform, regardless of content / practices. Starmer is proving his critics on free speech totally right.”
Supporters of the government argue that the use of AI to create sexualised images without consent represents a serious and growing harm that requires strong intervention. Ofcom has confirmed it has made urgent contact with X and is considering whether to open a formal investigation.
For critics, however, the confrontation has become symbolic of a deeper shift. Britain, they argue, once promoted free expression around the world. Now, they say, it risks exporting an image of authoritarianism under the banner of safety and decorum, with X seen as the latest target for refusing to bend the knee.
