The AI tool “Grok,” integrated into the Elon Musk-owned platform “X,” has disabled its image generation feature for non-subscribers. This move comes after the tool faced widespread criticism for its ability to generate fake sexual images of women and minors.
These images, created by modifying photos or videos of people to strip them of their clothing, sparked global protests.
When several “X” users contacted “Grok” on Friday, the tool responded that “Image generation and editing are currently available to users who pay for subscriptions. You can subscribe to benefit from these features.”
A spokesperson for the British Prime Minister said on Friday that “Grok’s” decision “simply turns a feature that enables the creation of illegal images into a premium service,” and constitutes “an insult to the victims of discrimination against women and sexual violence.”
European Commission Imposes Precautionary Measure on “X”
The European Commission stated that it “took note of the recent modifications” but considered them insufficient. A spokesperson for the Commission’s digital affairs department said, “Whether the subscription is paid or not, it does not change the core of our problem: we do not want to see such images, it’s that simple.”
– <a>”Grok” acknowledges “vulnerabilities” in its system following reports of it generating sexual content
– <a>”XAI” apologizes for “Grok’s” controversial messages
– <a>”X” suspends use of its European users’ data for “Grok”
The spokesperson added, “What we ask of platforms is to ensure that their designs and systems are not capable of producing such illegal content.”
It is noted that the European Commission announced on Thursday that it had imposed a precautionary measure on “X” in light of the scandal involving explicit sexual images of minors created by “Grok.”
The European Commission issued a “preservation order,” a legal measure that obliges “X” to “retain all its internal documents related to Grok until the end of 2026,” according to a Commission spokesperson.
