UK sets course for stricter AI chatbot regulation

The UK government has announced immediate action to force AI chatbot providers to comply with laws requiring online platforms to protect children from illegal and harmful content. Providers that fail to meet these duties will face legal consequences.

This follows recent intervention after non-consensual intimate images were shared through the AI chatbot Grok, prompting the removal of a related function.

The Prime Minister said the government will take new legal powers to support swift action after its consultation on children’s wellbeing online. The powers are intended to allow updates to online safety rules within months, based on evidence from the consultation.

“Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

The measures the government wants to be able to act on include setting a minimum age for social media use and limiting features like infinite scrolling. Existing law already makes the distribution of nude images of children illegal, and further steps are under review to help technology companies prevent children from sending or receiving such images.

Other areas under review include limits on children’s use of AI chatbots, restrictions on VPN use where safety systems are bypassed, and changes to the age of digital consent.

Additional steps focus on supporting families following the death of a child, with plans to preserve online data linked to a child before deletion where it may be relevant.

“We will not wait to take the action families need, so we will tighten the rules on AI chatbots and we are laying the ground so we can act at pace on the results of the consultation on young people and social media,” noted Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.