{"id":361837,"date":"2026-01-10T00:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T00:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/361837\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T00:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T00:34:15","slug":"no-10-condemns-insulting-move-by-x-to-restrict-grok-ai-image-tool-grok-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/361837\/","title":{"rendered":"No 10 condemns \u2018insulting\u2019 move by X to restrict Grok AI image tool | Grok AI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Downing Street has condemned the move by X<\/a> to restrict its AI image creation tool to paying subscribers as insulting, saying it simply made the ability to generate explicit and unlawful images a premium service.<\/p>\n

There has been widespread anger after the image tool for Grok, the AI element of X, was used to manipulate thousands of images of women and sometimes children<\/a> to remove their clothing or put them in sexual positions.<\/p>\n

Grok announced in a post on X, which is owned by Elon Musk, that the ability to generate and edit images would be \u201climited to paying subscribers\u201d<\/a>. Those who pay have to provide personal details, meaning they could be identified if the function was misused.<\/p>\n

Asked about the change, a Downing Street spokesperson said it was unacceptable. \u201cThe move simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a solution. In fact, it\u2019s insulting to victims of misogyny and sexual violence. What it does prove is that X can move swiftly when it wants to do so. You heard the prime minister yesterday. He was abundantly clear that X needs to act, and needs to act now. It is time for X to grip this issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if No 10 was going to take any further action, such as leaving X, the spokesperson said \u201call options are on the table\u201d, and that it would support any action taken by Ofcom, the UK\u2019s media regulator.<\/p>\n

Speaking earlier on Friday, Anna Turley, the Labour party chair and a minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, said<\/a> there was no move as yet for the government to leave X, but individual ministers were considering doing so.<\/p>\n

She told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme: \u201cIt\u2019s really, really important that we tackle this. Those conversations are ongoing across government. I think all of us in politics are evaluating our use of social media and how we do that, and I know that conversation is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if she would leave the site, Turley said: \u201cI\u2019ve thought about that a lot over the past few months.\u201d Asked whether the Labour<\/a> party would do so, she said: \u201cThose conversations are taking place because it\u2019s really important that we make sure that we\u2019re in a safe space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The victim\u2019s commissioner, Claire Waxman, said X was no longer a \u201csafe space\u201d for victims and her office was considering scaling back its presence on the site and focusing its communications on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes the battle against violence against women and girls much harder when platforms such as X are enabling abuse on such an easy and regular basis,\u201d Waxman said, adding that the platform was having a negative impact on its users\u2019 mental health because of the proliferation of violence, abuse and race hate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is that material not being taken down and those users being stopped?\u201d she asked. \u201cIt is not safeguarding its users.\u201d Waxman said she was concerned about Ofcom\u2019s ability to police platforms such as X effectively. \u201cDoes Ofcom have the teeth to be able to really deal with these sorts of issues? That is a concern for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

There has been an exodus of women\u2019s sector organisations from X. The domestic abuse charity Refuge left the site, as has Women\u2019s Aid Ireland and Victim Support. Victim Support left in April, saying it was \u201cno longer the right place for us to communicate with our audiences\u201d. Women\u2019s Aid Ireland said the decision was taken because of \u201cincreased levels of unchecked hate, misogyny, racism and anti-LGBTI+ content on the platform\u201d.<\/p>\n

Emma Pickering, the head of technology at Refuge, said the decision by X to restrict access to the image tool for Grok to paying subscribers amounted to \u201cthe monetisation of abuse\u201d.<\/p>\n

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