UK culture minister Nandy quits Musk's X, citing abuse and misinformation
Lisa Nandy's Departure from X and Its Wider Implications
By Sam Tabahriti
Minister's Statement and Departmental Actions
LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Britain's culture minister Lisa Nandy said on Thursday she had decided to leave Elon Musk's social media platform X, becoming one of the most senior members of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government to quit the platform as scrutiny of it intensifies.
"I've decided to leave this platform and my department will too," Nandy said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate. It isn't healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don't want to support it," she added.
Nandy's Department for Culture, Media and Sport will also stop using the platform.
Other Government Reactions
Nandy appears to be the first elected member of Starmer's cabinet to leave the platform. Attorney General Richard Hermer, who attends cabinet meetings and sits in the House of Lords, withdrew his office from X last month.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Regulatory and Political Pressure on X
Mounting Scrutiny Over Online Safety
REGULATORY PRESSURE MOUNTS
Nandy's departure from X comes as Musk's platform faces growing regulatory and political pressure in Britain and elsewhere over online safety, misinformation and AI-generated content.
Investigations and Legal Actions
Britain's media regulator Ofcom in January opened an investigation into X over concerns that its Grok AI chatbot was being used to create and share illegal non-consensual intimate images, including content involving minors.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described some of the images as "disgusting" and "unlawful", while ministers said platforms had a duty to protect users from harmful content.
In mid-January Musk's AI venture xAI said it restricted image editing in Grok, and blocked users from generating images of people in revealing clothing in "jurisdictions where it's illegal."
In early February, Reuters found that even after new curbs, Grok continued to generate sexualised images of people even when users explicitly warned that the subjects did not consent.
In June, British lawmaker Jess Asato sued xAI, alleging Grok had been used to create fake sexualised images of her.
Musk's Response to Regulation
Musk has repeatedly criticised Britain's approach to online regulation, arguing that measures including the Online Safety Act — one of the world's most stringent regimes — risk restricting free speech.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, editing by Paul Sandle, Aidan Lewis)
