Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has announced restrictions on its Grok artificial intelligence tool to prevent users from generating images depicting real individuals in sexually suggestive attire, amid mounting concerns over the proliferation of explicit AI-generated deepfakes.
The platform disclosed the new safeguards in a statement, explaining that technological measures had been deployed to curb abuse of the image-editing feature.
“We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok AI account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers,” X stated.
The development followed the commencement of an investigation by California’s Attorney General into the circulation of sexualised deepfakes produced using the Grok model, some of which allegedly involved minors.
Rob Bonta, California’s chief prosecutor, expressed alarm over the misuse of the technology, noting: “This material, which depicts women and children in nude and sexually explicit situations, has been used to harass people across the internet.”
According to X, the latest update reinforces existing controls by barring all users, including premium subscribers, from editing photographs of real persons in provocative clothing.
The company emphasised that only paid users would retain access to Grok’s image-editing capabilities, a measure designed to enhance accountability.
The platform further explained that attempts to create images of real individuals in bikinis, undergarments or similar attire would be blocked in compliance with jurisdictional laws.
“This measure would add an extra layer of protection and help ensure accountability for those who attempt to use the tool to breach the law or violate X’s policies,” the statement added.
The controversy has sparked action beyond the United States, with Malaysia and Indonesia restricting access to the chatbot following the emergence of the contentious images.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer cautioned that X risked losing its “right to self-regulate” if it failed to address public concerns.
Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, announced that it would examine whether X violated UK legislation in connection with the sexually explicit content generated through Grok.