Name: Elon Musk's platform X limits Grok AI image edits to paid users | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-01-09T17:11:59.000Z
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After an outcry over people using the artificial intelligence tool Grok to digitally undress people, it's been switched off for the vast majority of users.

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Grok is integrated into the social media platform X and it's been used to generate deep, fake sexualized images of women and children.

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Downing street said the changes only served to make Creating deepfakes a premium service and were insulting to victims of misogyny and sexual violence.

Our technology editor, Zoe Kleinman has more Shocked, humiliated and frightened.

That was how one woman described her reaction to discovering that someone unknown to her had taken ordinary photos that she'd shared online and asked the AI tool Grok to undress her.

GROK complied and the resulting AI generated images were published by default on its X account on social media for all to see.

The International Watch foundation then reported that it had found sexualised images of children aged 11 to 13 that also appeared to have been generated by Grok.

At the request of users, Ofcom launched an urgent investigation into how Grok's parents, company xai, owned by Elon Musk, was complying with UK online safety laws.

Downing street has today slammed xai's decision to restrict access to the tool and others are also skeptical.

It will hopefully mean there'll be far fewer of these offences, which will again, at least in the short term, significantly lighten that exhausting toll that this has taken on women for weeks.

But I am concerned that it's just a panicked kind of sticking plaster.

Elon Musk here is the enemy of free speech.

It's Elon Musk who has taken the action to reduce people's access to grok.

Elon Musk could have put in effective guardrails to prevent it being used in abusive ways, but

then still being available to everybody else.

Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok was deliberately designed to be sarcastic, rebellious and controversial, a bit like its owner.

By limiting the image creation tool to subscribers on X, at least the parent company XAI can keep track of who is requesting.

But under the terms of the UK Online Safety Act, XAI is still responsible for the content that Grok publishes.

While it is illegal to share non consensual intimate images, and that includes deepfakes.

The legislation which would make it illegal to request or create them isn't yet in force.

The government says Ofcom has its full support to use all of its powers, which ultimately include blocking access to an online service in the uk.

This would be unprecedented for now XAI appears to be taking steps to comply.

However, people who are not subscribers on X can still use Grok to produce images on its separate app and website.