{"id":13610,"date":"2026-04-23T05:46:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/13610\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T05:46:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:46:43","slug":"musks-grok-chatbot-restricts-image-generation-after-global-backlash-to-sexualized-deepfakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/13610\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk’s Grok chatbot restricts image generation after global backlash to sexualized deepfakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 Elon Musk\u2019s AI chatbot Grok is preventing non-paying users from generating or editing images after a global backlash erupted<\/a> over sexualized deepfakes of people, but the change has not satisfied authorities in Europe. <\/p>\n

The chatbot, which is accessed through Musk\u2019s social media platform X, has in the past few weeks been granting a wave of what researchers say are malicious user requests to modify images, including putting women in bikinis or in sexually explicit positions. <\/p>\n

Researchers have warned that in a few cases, some images appeared to depict children. Governments around the world have condemned the platform and opened investigations. <\/p>\n

On Friday, Grok responded to image altering requests with the message: \u201cImage generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: Musk\u2019s Grok chatbot restricts image generation after global backlash to sexualized deepfakes\n <\/p>\n

AP\u2019s Lisa Dwyer reports on the growing focus on explicit AI generated images on Grok.<\/p>\n

While subscriber numbers for Grok aren\u2019t publicly available, there was a noticeable decline Friday in the number of explicit deepfakes that Grok is now generating compared with just days earlier. <\/p>\n

Grok was still granting image requests but only from X users with blue checkmarks given to premium subscriber who pay $8 a month for features including higher usage limits for the chatbot. <\/p>\n

The Associated Press on Friday confirmed Friday afternoon that the image editing tool was still available to free users on the standalone Grok website and app.<\/p>\n

An X spokesperson didn\u2019t respond immediately to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

The restrictions for users save for paying subscribers did not appear to change the opinions of leaders or regulators in Europe. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t change our fundamental issue. Paid subscription or non-paid subscription, we don\u2019t want to see such images. It\u2019s as simple as that,\u201d said Thomas Regnier, a spokesman for the European Union\u2019s executive Commission. The Commission had earlier slammed Grok for \u201cillegal\u201d and \u201cappalling\u201d behavior. <\/p>\n

The British government was also unsatisfied. <\/p>\n

Grok\u2019s changes are \u201cnot a solution,\u201d said Geraint Ellis, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who on Thursday had threatened unspecified action against X. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, it is insulting to the victims of misogyny and sexual violence,\u201d he said, noting that it shows that X \u201ccan move swiftly when it wants to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect rapid action,\u201d he said, adding that \u201call options are on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer, speaking to Greatest Hits radio, had said that X needs to \u201cget their act together and get this material down. We will take action on this because it\u2019s simply not tolerable.\u201d <\/p>\n

The U.K.’s media and privacy regulators both said this week they\u2019ve contacted X and Musk\u2019s artificial intelligence company xAI for information on measures taken to comply with British regulations.<\/p>\n

France, Malaysia and India have also been scrutinizing the platform and a Brazilian lawmaker has called for an investigation. The European Commission has ordered X to retain all internal documents and data relating to Grok until the end of 2026, as part of a wider investigation under the EU\u2019s digital safety law. <\/p>\n

Grok is free to use for X users, who can ask it questions on the social media platform. They can either tag it in posts they\u2019ve directly created or in replies to posts from other users. <\/p>\n

Grok launched in 2023. Last summer the company added an image generator feature, Grok Imagine, that included a so-called \u201cspicy mode\u201d that can generate adult content.<\/p>\n

The problem is amplified both because Musk pitches his chatbot as an edgier alternative to rivals with more safeguards, and because Grok\u2019s images are publicly visible, and can therefore be easily spread. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP writers Jill Lawless in London and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON (AP) \u2014 Elon Musk\u2019s AI chatbot Grok is preventing non-paying users from generating or editing images after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[25,309,140,700,2784,1477,10514,6364,10512,134,6615,1481,10513,9032,2899],"class_list":{"0":"post-13610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-xai","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-elon-musk","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european-union","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-geraint-ellis","15":"tag-grok","16":"tag-keir-starmer","17":"tag-technology","18":"tag-thomas-regnier","19":"tag-u-s-news","20":"tag-united-kingdom-government","21":"tag-x-corp","22":"tag-xai"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}