Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, has restricted its image creation and editing features to paying subscribers following international backlash over the use of the tool to generate sexualised deepfake images of women and children.
The move comes after governments and regulators threatened fines and other sanctions over the AI’s ability to alter online images to remove clothing from subjects, sparking widespread concern over abuse, misogyny and child exploitation.
Responding to users on Friday on Musk’s social media platform X, Grok announced, “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features.”
As a result, non-paying users can no longer generate or modify images, while subscribers must provide credit card details and personal information to access the feature.
The decision, however, has drawn sharp criticism from political leaders and regulators, who argue that placing the feature behind a paywall does not address the underlying harm.
The office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the change as “insulting” to victims and ineffective.
“That simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. “It’s insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual violence.”
The European Union also indicated that the restriction does little to resolve its concerns. EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier said the bloc had “taken note of the recent changes” but stressed that the issue went beyond whether the feature was free or paid.
“This doesn’t change our fundamental issue, paid subscription or non-paid subscription. We don’t want to see such images. It’s as simple as that,” Regnier said.
“What we’re asking platforms to do is to make sure that their design, that their systems, do not allow the generation of such illegal content.”
The European Commission has ordered X to preserve all internal documents and data linked to Grok until the end of 2026 as part of its response to the controversy. France, Malaysia and India have also publicly criticised the platform over the spread of AI-generated nude images.
Musk has previously warned that users who generate illegal content using Grok would face consequences.
“Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” he wrote on X last week.
X’s official Safety account later said the platform deals with illegal material “by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary,” as scrutiny over AI-generated abuse continues to intensify worldwide.
