What started as a fun AI feature quickly turned into a serious problem. Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok is now under fire after people used it to create fake, sexual images, and governments are not amused. Image features now limited to paid users on X Grok, the AI chatbot linked to Elon Musk’s company xAI, has restricted image creation and editing on the social media platform X. Now, only paying subscribers on X can use these image tools.
However, the separate Grok app (not linked to X) still allows users to generate images for free. Why the change? Deepfake images spark global anger The move comes after strong backlash over Grok being used to create sexualised deepfake images of women and even children by digitally removing clothes from photos. Several countries raised serious concerns, and Musk was reportedly threatened with fines over the issue. Also read: How Elon Musk’s AI sparked a global storm over safety
EU says, paid or free, it’s still illegal The European Commission made it clear that limiting features to paid users does not solve the problem. EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said: We don’t want to see such images. It’s as simple as that. He added: What we’re asking platforms to do is to make sure their systems do not allow the generation of such illegal content. The EU has also asked X to preserve all internal data related to Grok until the end of 2026 for investigation. UK calls the move ‘insulting’ to victims The UK government also criticised the decision.
A spokesperson from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said: That simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service. It’s insulting to the victims of misogyny and sexual violence. The UK’s data protection authority has asked X to explain how it is following privacy laws. Apart from Europe and the UK, France, Malaysia, and India have also spoken out against X over the misuse of Grok’s image tools.
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Musk warns users, but criticism continues Elon Musk said last week that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same punishment as posting such content directly on X. Still, critics say warnings are not enough if the tool itself allows harmful misuse.
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