Elon Musk’s AI company finally blocks nude image generation following pressure from regulators

Following protests from regulators and users, Elon Musk's AI company has restricted image generation in its Grok chatbot.

X has rolled out several changes: editing images of real people in revealing clothing like bikinis is now blocked for all users, and image generation is only available to paying subscribers.

In countries where it's illegal, X also blocks creating images of real people in underwear or similar clothing. X says it has "zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content" and reports accounts "seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary." The company hasn't clarified what "as necessary" means, an ambiguous standard for something as serious as potential child exploitation.

The changes come after days of protests. For weeks, users had been exploiting the chatbot to digitally undress uploaded photos of people—including children—using simple text prompts. According to deepfake researcher Genevieve Oh, Grok was previously generating around 6,700 sexually suggestive or undressing images per hour.

It took massive political intervention to get xAI to react at all, which reflects Musk's broader approach to platform safety. The British media regulator Ofcom is investigating whether X violated the Online Safety Act, including by enabling the creation of sexualized material involving children. Violations could result in fines of up to 18 million pounds or 10 percent of global revenue.

The US Senate has unanimously passed the "Defiance Act," which would allow victims of non-consensual AI nude images to sue the people who created them. The House of Representatives still needs to approve it.

The British government called the changes "vindication" of its demands, while Ofcom described them as a "welcome development."

X cracks down on AI spam apps

X is also updating its developer guidelines: apps that reward users for posting on X, known as "infofi" apps, will no longer be allowed. According to product manager Nikita Bier, these apps have flooded the platform with AI-generated spam. X has already blocked API access for several of them.