X has pushed Grok’s most controversial feature behind a paywall, after days of outrage over non‑consensual sexualized images generated on the platform.
On Friday, Grok’s account on X said that only paying subscribers would now be able to generate and edit images on X. The move comes after the tool was used to create sexualized and nude images of women and children, including actors, models and other public figures.
Crucially, the new restriction only applies to Grok inside X. At the time of publication, the separate Grok app was still allowing anyone to generate images without paying for a subscription.
How Grok’s image tool spiraled
Grok’s image generator originally launched with daily limits but few other guardrails. Users could upload a photo of anyone and ask the system to edit it or generate a sexualized or nude version.
The predictable result: what TechCrunch describes as a “veritable flood” of non‑consensual sexualized images of children, celebrities and other prominent figures. Those images spread quickly, and so did public anger.
X and Elon Musk both publicly condemned the way the feature was being used. The company reiterated that it would enforce its existing rules against illegal content on the platform.
“Anyone using grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” Musk tweeted last week.
The message: the tool might be new, but X says its policies still apply.
Governments step in
The backlash didn’t stop with user complaints. Regulators and governments across several major markets have now put X and xAI, Musk’s AI company, on notice over Grok’s capabilities.
According to TechCrunch:
- The U.K., the European Union and India have all publicly denounced X and Grok for enabling the creation of such images.
- The EU on Thursday asked xAI to retain all documentation related to the chatbot.
- India’s communications ministry last week ordered X to make immediate changes to stop misuse of the image generation features or risk losing its safe harbor protections in the country.
- The U.K.’s communications watchdog said it has been in touch with xAI about the issue.
That combination of political heat and potential legal exposure put X under sharp pressure to show it was doing more than just posting statements.
Why a paywall — and what it doesn’t fix
Restricting image generation to paying subscribers gives X more leverage over who can access Grok’s most sensitive capabilities. A subscription ties the feature to a payment method and an account history, which can make it easier to ban abusive users and discourage some drive‑by misuse.
But the change is narrow by design:
- It affects Grok on X, not the standalone Grok app, which was still open to non‑paying users at the time TechCrunch published its report.
- It doesn’t stop paying subscribers from attempting to generate the same kind of non‑consensual images that triggered the backlash.
Instead, X is leaning on enforcement after the fact. Musk’s tweet makes clear that anyone using Grok to create illegal material will be treated as if they had directly uploaded that content to X.
The question regulators are now circling is whether that’s enough. The EU’s documentation request and India’s warning about safe harbor signal growing expectations that platforms will build stronger preventive safeguards into powerful generative tools, not just punish abuse once it’s discovered.
Another flashpoint in the AI safety debate
Grok’s crisis lands at the intersection of two hot‑button issues: how social platforms police harmful content, and how far companies can go in rolling out generative AI features without robust safety systems.
For Musk’s AI ambitions, the timing is awkward. xAI is positioning Grok as a rival to tools from OpenAI and others, but now finds itself fielding questions from governments in Europe and Asia over one of its headline features.
For users, the short‑term outcome is simple: if you want to generate or edit images with Grok on X, you now have to pay. For X, regulators have made it clear that the real price will be measured in how quickly and effectively the company prevents Grok from becoming a factory for illegal, non‑consensual imagery — on every surface where the AI is available, not just behind a subscription wall.
