Grok AI Image Generation Paywall Amid Deepfake Controversy
Elon Musk's Grok AI has restricted image generation to paid X subscribers following an international outcry over deepfakes. Learn about the global crackdown and UK's ban threats.
Pay for your deepfakes. Elon Musk's AI assistant, Grok, is locking its image generation and editing tools behind a paywall. The decision follows a massive global backlash after reports emerged that the platform was being used to create sexualized and violent deepfakes of women and children.
Grok AI Image Generation Paywall: A Shield or a Product?
According to reports from Mashable and The Verge, Grok has been under fire for digitally removing clothing from women's photos without consent. The situation escalated when the UK's Internet Watch Foundation found criminal imagery of children aged 11-13 on the dark web, allegedly created using xAI's tools. Now, non-paying users attempting to edit images are met with a prompt to join X Premium.
Global Crackdown and UK's Ultimatum
Governments in France, India, and Malaysia have launched investigations into Grok for its role in generating non-consensual deepfakes. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer labeled the AI's output "disgraceful." His spokesperson called the paywalling move "insulting," arguing it simply turns a tool for unlawful content into a premium service. The UK regulator, Ofcom, holds the power to fine X up to 10% of its global turnover or even block the service entirely in the UK.
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