The UK government has sharply criticized Elon Musk-owned platform X over its decision to restrict Grok AI’s image-editing tools to paid users, calling the move “insulting” to victims of misogyny and sexual violence.
Responding on Friday, a Downing Street spokesperson said the change “simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service,” raising serious concerns about how the company is handling abuse enabled by artificial intelligence.
The comments follow widespread backlash after Grok was found to comply with user requests to digitally alter photos of real people by removing their clothing without consent. While X has since limited access to the feature, Grok now tells users that such image edits are only available through a paid subscription, a move critics argue fails to address the underlying harm.
The UK government also used the episode to underscore that X is capable of acting quickly when it chooses to. The prime minister’s official spokesperson told reporters that the situation showed the platform “can move swiftly when it wants to do so,” even as the company itself has yet to issue a public response.
According to the spokesperson, the prime minister has been “abundantly clear that X needs to act and needs to act now,” signaling growing frustration in London over how the company is responding to the misuse of its AI tools.
“It is time for X to grip this issue, if another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash,” the spokesperson added, drawing a pointed comparison with how traditional media organizations would be expected to respond.
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Despite the new restrictions, access to Grok’s image-editing tools has not been fully shut down. Users who do not pay for a subscription can still edit images using Grok through its standalone app and website.
Downing Street also reiterated its support for tougher regulatory action. The government said it fully backs Ofcom using the full scope of its authority, including the possibility of an effective ban, amid concerns that unlawful AI-generated images are being created on X.
Addressing reports that Grok had produced sexualized images involving both adults and children, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer used unusually strong language to condemn the practice.
“It’s unlawful. We’re not going to tolerate it. I’ve asked for all options to be on the table,” Starmer said in an interview with Greatest Hits Radio on Thursday.
Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, Ofcom has sweeping enforcement powers, including the ability to seek a court order that could block third parties from helping the Elon Musk-owned platform raise funds or even limit access to the service within the UK.
Criticism of X has also intensified from legal and child safety experts, who argue the company’s response does not address the scale of harm already caused.
“Musk has thrown his toys out of the pram in protest at being held to account for the tsunami of abuse,” said Professor Clare McGlynn, an expert in the legal regulation of pornography, sexual violence and online abuse.
“Instead of taking the responsible steps to ensure Grok could not be used for abusive purposes, it has withdrawn access for the vast majority of users,” she added.
Hannah Swirsky, head of policy at the Internet Watch Foundation, echoed those concerns, warning that the changes “does not undo the harm which has been done.”
READ: Grok faces backlash across UK, EU and India over sexualized content (
“We 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,” Swirsky said.
The charity has previously said its analysts uncovered “criminal imagery” involving girls aged between 11 and 13 that “appeared to have been created” using Grok, further increasing pressure on regulators to intervene.
“Sitting and waiting for unsafe products to be abused before taking action is unacceptable,” according to Swirsky.
Grok is available as a free tool on X, where users can tag the chatbot directly in posts or replies to prompt a response, a design choice that has helped drive its rapid adoption across the platform.
At the same time, the feature has enabled users to request image edits, including asking the AI to digitally remove most of a person’s clothing. In numerous cases, Grok has complied with requests to alter images of women to depict them in bikinis or minimal clothing.
Several people targeted by such edits told the BBC that the experience left them feeling “humiliated” and “dehumanised,” intensifying scrutiny of how the tool was deployed without sufficient safeguards.
By Friday morning, however, Grok began responding differently to such requests. Users attempting to alter images uploaded to X were told that “image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers,” with the chatbot adding that they “can subscribe to unlock these features.”