Elon Musk's Grok Chatbot Restricts Image Generation on X to Paid Users Following Backlash Over Se*ualised Deepfakes of Women and Children

Mumbai, January 9: Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, has restricted the image generation and editing features of its Grok chatbot to paid subscribers on the X platform. The move, implemented on Friday, January 9, follows a week of intense international backlash after the tool was widely used to create non-consensual, s*xualized deepfakes of women and children.

Despite the restriction, regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union have signalled that the change is insufficient, with some officials describing the proliferation of such images as the "industrialisation of s*xual harassment." Elon Musk’s Grok Chatbot Restricts Image Generation After Global Backlash to Se*ualised Deepfakes.

Global Regulatory Backlash

The decision to put Grok's image tools behind a paywall comes amid mounting pressure from governments worldwide. In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the content as "disgraceful" and "disgusting," warning that "all options are on the table," including a potential de facto ban on X if the platform fails to curb the material.

The European Commission echoed these sentiments, labelling the images as "illegal" and "appalling." Officials in India, France, and Malaysia have also launched probes or demanded "Action Taken Reports" regarding Grok’s technical safeguards. European regulators noted that moving the feature to a paid tier does not resolve the underlying legal issue of hosting unlawful content.

Misuse of Grok's Image Editing Tools

The controversy centred on Grok's "image editing" and "spicy mode" functions, which allowed users to modify existing photos with simple text prompts. Researchers and journalists found that the tool frequently complied with requests to "nudify" subjects or place them in suggestive attire. According to reports from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), analysts confirmed the existence of criminal imagery depicting minors aged 11 to 13 generated by the tool.

On X, free-tier users who now attempt to use these features receive an automated message stating: "Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features." Grok AI ‘Undressing’ Women & Children: Which Countries Have Called Out Elon Musk Over Deepfakes?

Platform's Response and Legal Liability

Elon Musk has defended the platform by stating that users who prompt the AI to create illegal content will face the same legal consequences as those who upload such material directly. However, xAI’s official response to requests for comment has been a terse, automated message labelling critical reports as "Legacy Media Lies". Critics argue that by restricting the tool to paid users, X is merely creating a "digital paper trail" rather than preventing abuse.

Paid subscription or non-paid subscription, we don't want to see such images. It's as simple as that," said a spokesperson for the European Commission.

Current Availability

While the integrated version of Grok on the X social media platform now requires a premium subscription costing approximately USD 8 to USD 10 per month, depending on the region, the standalone Grok app reportedly still allows some image generation without a paid membership. X’s safety team has promised to ban users who share child s*xual abuse material (CSAM), but researchers at AI Forensics noted that highly explicit and violent AI-generated videos continue to circulate via external sharing links created through the tool.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 09, 2026 09:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).