Canada not considering a ban on X over deepfake controversy, AI minister says

OTTAWA — Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says Canada isn’t considering a ban of the social media platform X.

The platform, which is owned by Elon Musk, has been embroiled in controversy over sexualized deepfakes created by X’s chatbot Grok.

On Saturday, The Telegraph reported the U.K. government was gathering international support to respond to the controversy, with Canada sharing U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s concerns.

U.K. regulator Ofcom is investigating the controversy, which could result in X facing a ban.

Just after midnight Sunday, Solomon said in a post on X that contrary to media reports, Canada is not considering a ban.

In an earlier post addressing the controversy, he pointed to a government bill introduced late last year that would criminalize sexual deepfakes.