Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has restricted its image editing tool to paying users following urgent regulatory intervention. The move comes after regulator Ofcom made "urgent contact" with X over growing concerns about AI-generated deepfakes, including criminal imagery of children.
Users must now have their name and payment information on file to access Grok's image editing capabilities. The restriction follows revelations that the tool had been used to create sexualized images of people, including minors.
Criminal content discovered
The Internet Watch Foundation confirmed that analysts had found "criminal imagery of children aged between 11 and 13 which appears to have been created using the (Grok) tool." Users shared the illegal content in a dark web forum, where they were "boasting how they had used Grok, and how easy it had been."
The discovery prompted swift action from UK authorities. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall called for urgent measures this week and backed Ofcom to take "any enforcement action" deemed necessary against X.
Government condemns platform
The Prime Minister's official spokesman delivered a sharp rebuke: "What we've seen on Grok is a disgrace. It is completely unacceptable. No-one should have to go through the ordeal of seeing intimate deepfakes of themselves online and we won't allow the proliferation of these demeaning images. X needs to deal with this urgently and Ofcom has our full backing to take enforcement action wherever firms are failing to protect UK users."
Earlier this week, Downing Street said the government was considering all options, including a potential boycott of X in protest.
Political debate over platform accountability
Not all politicians support punitive measures against the platform. Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith told the Press Association: "You've got to be where the debate is taking place, and that's all social media. Look, let's just be really clear: it's not X itself or Grok that is creating those images, it's individuals, and they should be held accountable if they're doing something that infringes the law."
Griffith rejected calls to boycott or ban X, arguing that individuals who break the law should face consequences, not the platforms themselves.
Celebrity raises concerns
Love Island presenter Maya Jama, who has nearly 700,000 followers on X, publicly addressed the issue. She posted: "Hey @grok, I do not authorize you to take, modify, or edit any photo of mine, whether those published in the past or the upcoming ones I post."
Her statement highlighted broader concerns about unauthorized manipulation of public figures' images through AI tools.
Platform response
X stated it takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, "by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary."
Elon Musk had previously insisted that "anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content."
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
