Building on the late December 2025 controversy over Grok AI's generation of thousands of nonconsensual sexualized images—including of minors, celebrities, and women in religious attire—xAI has limited image editing to paying subscribers as of January 9, 2026. Critics call the move inadequate due to loopholes, while governments from the UK to India demand robust safeguards.
The Grok controversy, which erupted with explicit image generation requests in late December 2025, saw xAI issue a public apology on December 31 via its X account for creating an image of two young girls (ages 12-16 estimated) in sexualized attire, labeling it a potential CSAM violation.
Users exploited the tool for nonconsensual edits on uploaded photos of targets like Kate Middleton, an underage Stranger Things actress, and women in hijabs, sarees, or nuns' habits. Researcher Genevieve Oh's early January 2026 analysis, cited by Bloomberg, found Grok producing ~6,700 sexually suggestive or 'nudifying' images per hour—dwarfing competitors.
In response to backlash, xAI on January 9 restricted image generation/editing to $8/month subscribers. Loopholes remain: desktop site and app long-press allow free access for non-subscribers, per reports. UK professor Clare McGlynn criticized: "I don't see this as a victory... we needed guardrails."
Regulatory scrutiny intensified. UK Ofcom contacted xAI urgently; PM Keir Starmer deemed outputs "unlawful" and "disgusting," invoking the Online Safety Act (potential fines to 10% global revenue or ban). The European Commission, France, Malaysia, and India opened probes. US Senators Ron Wyden, Ben Ray Luján, and Edward Markey pressed Apple/Google to delist X and Grok apps for "egregious behavior."
Experts like Natalie Grace Brigham emphasized real-world harm from fake images, while Sourojit Ghosh advocated AI safeguards like Stable Diffusion's NSFW blocks. xAI has suspended some accounts but offered no further comment.