The British government announced new regulations on AI chatbots Monday. File Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA

Feb. 16 (UPI) — The British government will add new regulations to artificial intelligence chatbots to protect children and other users, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday.

“The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass,” Starmer said in a statement. “Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.”

Starmer announced Monday afternoon that his government will work to keep kids safe online “as they navigate a digital world that did not exist a generation ago, and one that is shaped by powerful platforms, addictive design and fast-moving technologies.

The new measures will include a crackdown on illegal content generated by AI by closing a legal loophole, which will force chatbot providers to follow the Online Safety Act. The Online Safety Act became law in 2023, which was before AI chatbots became prevalent.

In January, the British government and later the European Union announced investigations into Grok, the chatbot created by Elon Musk’s xAI after allegations surfaced that people were using the bot to undress women and girls without their permission. xAI eventually changed its ability and blocked it.

Starmer said the new rules, which include minimum age limits for social media platforms, restricting features such as infinite scrolling and limiting children’s use of AI chatbots and access to VPNs, CNBC reported.

Another measure announced would force social media companies to keep data after a child’s death, unless online activity is clearly unrelated to the death.

“We are acting to protect children’s wellbeing and help parents to navigate the minefield of social media,” Starmer said.

“Historically, our lawmakers have been reluctant to regulate the technology and have rather sought to regulate its use cases and for good reason,” said Alex Brown, head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications at law firm Simmons & Simmons, in a statement to CNBC.

He said the Online Safety Act focuses on “regulating services rather than technology.”

Brown said the move shows that the United Kingdom government wants to address the dangers “that arise from the design and behavior of technologies themselves, not just from user‑generated content or platform features.”

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told BBC Today that acting quickly in government is important because technology changes fast.

“MPs have a Finance Bill every year with the budget – I think we need to think like that with technology because it is changing so fast.”

“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,” Kendall said in a statement. “We are determined to give children the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future at a time of rapid technological change.”