Ofcom says concerns persist over X's handling of illegal hate and terror content as its investigation moves on

Ofcom has said it remains concerned about how effectively X deals with illegal hate and terrorism-related content, even though the platform has got faster at reviewing material reported to it.

In its first quarterly performance report to the regulator, X met the targets it had agreed for reviewing reports of suspected content more quickly. Reporting of Ofcom's update put the commitments as reviewing suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within an average of 24 hours, with at least 85 per cent assessed within a maximum of 48 hours as a backstop. Ofcom said it had ongoing concerns around the effectiveness of X's response to taking down illegal hate and terror content, and that it would keep examining the data X submits against its own testing.

Photograph: N Chadwick, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Separately, Ofcom said its investigation into X has moved into a new phase, in which it will decide whether the platform met its legal duties to protect people in Britain from illegal content. The investigation was opened in January after reports that the Grok chatbot was being used to create and share sexualised images that could amount to illegal content, including deepfakes involving real people and children.

Faster reviews are not the same as effective takedowns.British Journal analysis

Ofcom said it had found that some users who had not verified their age could still access pornographic content on X, and that the company has since changed its systems so that such material is blocked consistently from under-18s and unverified users. The regulator said it would focus the rest of its investigation on X's handling of illegal content and its reporting and complaints systems, while continuing to monitor its age-check measures. If it has reasonable grounds to believe X failed to meet its duties, it will issue a provisional view before a final decision.

Photograph: Acabashi, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ofcom also said that SpaceXAI, formerly xAI, has introduced further restrictions to its standalone Grok service after discussions with the regulator. Users in Britain are now blocked from viewing, generating or sharing pornographic content through Grok's image generation tools, and companion chatbots such as Ani have been barred from sexually explicit conversations.

X and SpaceXAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. The regulator's position, for now, is narrow but pointed: faster reviews are not the same as effective takedowns, and X will need to maintain its current performance while Ofcom decides the compliance question.