The UK government will soon punish AI chatbot makers if their tools put children at risk. Keir Starmer announced plans to fine companies or block their services under the Online Safety Act. This move follows Elon Musk’s X stopping its Grok AI from creating sexualised images after public outrage. With more kids using chatbots for homework and mental health help, ministers want a “crackdown on vile illegal content created by AI.” The government will close a legal loophole so AI chatbot providers must follow illegal content rules or face legal consequences. Starmer also plans to speed up new social media restrictions for children, including a possible under-16 user ban, after public consultation. These changes could start as early as this summer. However, the Conservatives criticized the plan as “more smoke and mirrors,” noting the consultation has not started yet. Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said, “Claiming they are taking ‘immediate action’ is simply not credible when their so-called urgent consultation does not even exist.” The current laws cannot act against AI chatbots like Grok because their content is created without searching the internet unless it is pornography. Starmer said, “Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up.” Breaking the Online Safety Act can result in fines up to 10% of global revenue or service blocks in the UK. NSPCC chief Chris Sherwood said young people have reported harms from chatbots, and they do not trust tech firms to make them safe. He cited cases where chatbots gave a 14-year-old wrong advice on eating habits and worsened self-harming. Sherwood warned, “AI is going to be that on steroids if we’re not careful.” OpenAI, behind ChatGPT, and xAI, maker of Grok, were contacted for comments. Since a tragic teen suicide linked to ChatGPT, OpenAI added parental controls and plans age checks to limit harmful content. The government will also ask social media platforms to stop sending nude images of children, which is already illegal. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said, “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.” The Molly Rose Foundation called these steps a “welcome downpayment” and urged the Prime Minister for stronger online safety laws that make children’s wellbeing a top priority.