The shift to a paywalled model follows weeks of viral trends on X where users utilized Grok’s “Imagine” feature to digitally “undress” real people, including public figures and private citizens, without their consent.
The Move to a Paid Model
As of the morning of January 9, free-tier users attempting to use Grok’s image tools on the main X platform are met with an error message: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers”.
- Monetizing Abuse? Critics, including the UK Prime Minister’s office, have called the move “insulting,” arguing it simply turns the creation of harmful content into a “premium service”.
- Digital Paper Trail: Restricting the tool to subscribers (who pay roughly $8/month for X Premium) requires users to provide payment details and personal identification, creating a “paper trail” that strips away anonymity for those generating illegal content.
- Existing Loopholes: Despite the restrictions on X.com, researchers noted that image generation remained accessible to free users through the standalone Grok app and website as of Friday afternoon.
Global Regulatory Backlash
The policy change was a direct response to intensifying pressure from international regulators.
- United Kingdom: Media regulator Ofcom opened an investigation into Grok under the Online Safety Act after reports surfaced of the AI generating sexualized imagery of children as young as five.
- India: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a 72-hour ultimatum for X to remove obscene material and has since sought specific details on how Grok is being trained and moderated.
- European Union: The European Commission has ordered X to retain all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026 as part of a wider investigation into digital safety.
The Safety Gap
While X’s official “Safety” account claims it removes illegal content and suspends accounts, researchers from AI Forensics found that Grok was generating thousands of sexualized deepfakes daily leading up to the change. Elon Musk has warned that users who prompt the AI to make illegal content will suffer the same legal consequences as if they had uploaded it themselves.
