Following criticism over the generation of inappropriate images involving women and children, xAI, owned by Elon Musk, has restricted access to Grok’s image-generation feature on X to paying subscribers, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday. The decision comes after users in India and other countries reportedly used X’s AI assistant to create explicit and objectionable images of women and minors. Governments worldwide have taken notice of the issue and are seeking explanations from the Musk-led platform.

Although the image tool was originally available for free on X, the standalone Grok app continues to allow users to create images without a subscription, Bloomberg noted. In the United Kingdom, the Internet Watch Foundation reported that allegedly “criminal” images generated by Grok had appeared on the dark web. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the content as “disgraceful” and said that Ofcom has the government’s full backing to take necessary action.

Similarly, the European Union labelled the images “illegal” and instructed X to preserve all internal documents related to Grok until the end of the year. In India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sought clarification from X regarding how the tool permitted the creation of sexually explicit and objectionable content involving women and children. While X submitted a response earlier this week, the ministry reportedly found it unsatisfactory and has requested further information.

An official told Business Standard that the government has asked whether the issue had been flagged in other jurisdictions and what steps were taken to remove such content. Meanwhile, Musk warned in a recent post on X that anyone using Grok to produce illegal material would face the same consequences as those who upload unlawful content.