Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot has implemented new limitations on its image generation features, restricting access to paid X subscribers only. This change comes shortly after a significant international backlash regarding the AI tool’s ability to respond to users by “digitally undressing” individuals, including minors.
The policy shift occurred sometime between Thursday and Friday, as noted by Grok’s X account, which now informs non-subscribers that “image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers,” alongside an invitation to subscribe for access.
It’s important to note that this restriction pertains specifically to one method of user interaction with Grok. Users can still access an “edit image” function on images they upload to X, allowing anyone to utilize Grok’s capabilities for editing those images. Moreover, image and video generation remains freely available through Grok’s standalone website and app. The limitations seem to only affect the feature where users can tag Grok in an X post for a requested image, which Grok would then publicly generate in response.
Prior to this uproar, Musk reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with Grok Imagine’s safety measures during an internal meeting at xAI. This discontent coincided with the departure of three top members of the safety team, including the head of product safety, just weeks before the public outcry erupted.
Officials from various countries, including the United Kingdom, European Union, Malaysia, and India, have raised serious concerns about Grok’s safety protocols, labeling the output as a form of deepfake pornography. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized X’s recent actions, stating that it “simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service,” as reported by the BBC.
In the United States, some senators have taken action by sending a letter to tech giants Apple and Google, urging them to consider removing X and Grok from their app stores, citing violations of distribution terms.
Amid the heated controversy over the digital undressing capabilities, X’s leadership, including Musk and head of product Nikita Bier, has claimed that the platform is witnessing some of its highest engagement rates in history.
In a related development, xAI announced the completion of its Series E funding round this week, successfully raising $20 billion from investors—significantly surpassing the initial target of $15 billion.
At the time of reporting, a spokesperson for X had not responded to requests for comment.
