All public image generation and editing is now limited to those who pay for X Premium. It may be designed to help track those who make illegal content.<\/b>
\nSocial media network X has introduced new limits to stop free users prompting AI chatbot Grok to generate, edit, and share images.
Public image generation and editing through Grok is now exclusive to paid X Premium subscribers. You can continue to make images on Grok’s app, within its private chatbot, or on its website without a subscription, but those results aren’t automatically shared publicly.
It\u2019s unclear exactly when these new rules were put in place, but Grok now responds to requests for image editing with a disclaimer explaining the changes.
Grok replies to free users saying, \u201cImage generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features.\u201d It’s followed by a link to subscribe to either X Premium or X Premium+.
To get an X subscription, users need to share payment information, such as a credit card, and their full name. X may be using this as a form of identity authentication to allow it to better track users who make illegal imagery through its AI tools.
This comes after growing pressure on X around how Grok is able to generate sexualized deepfakes of real people and create child sexual abuse material (CSAM). On Jan. 2, Grok itself apologized for creating and sharing CSAM.
X’s owner, Elon Musk, said, \u00ab\u00a0Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.\u00a0\u00bb X’s Safety account said it would remove illegal imagery and work with law enforcement \u00ab\u00a0as necessary.\u00a0\u00bb
Grok continues to allow paying users to create automatically shared sexual deepfake imagery. The AI’s reply feed on X continues to show multiple examples of users asking Grok to undress others through AI-generated images.
Since Grok’s public apology, the outcry from international regulators has grown. UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has called images on the platform \u00ab\u00a0disgusting\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0unlawful.\u00a0\u00bb
He said, \u00ab\u00a0We\u2019re not going to tolerate it. I\u2019ve asked for all options to be on the table. X need to get their act together and get this material down. We will take action on this because it\u2019s simply not tolerable.\u201d
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a charity working to stop child sexual abuse imagery online, says it found multiple CSAM examples where the user claimed to use Grok for generation.
Hannah Swirsky, head of policy for the IWF, told ITV News, \u201cWe do not believe it is good enough to simply limit access to a tool which should never have had the capacity to create the kind of imagery we have seen in recent days. Companies must make sure the products they build and make available to the global public are safe by design.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n