Elon Musk's startup xAI has restricted the capabilities of the Grok neural network on the social media platform X. Following a recent scandal, developers have disabled the feature that allowed the generation of explicit images of real people.
— Safety (@Safety) January 14, 2026
The company is taking steps to remove CSAM content and nudity, as well as addressing users who violate X's rules. It will report those attempting to find such materials to law enforcement.
"We have implemented technological measures to prevent the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing, such as bikinis, through the Grok account. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers," the notice stated.
Image creation and editing via the Grok account on X is now only available to premium users. xAI hopes this will hold accountable those who misuse the chatbot's capabilities.
Developers described this restriction as an addition to existing security protocols and announced plans for further protective measures.
Another Scandal
In early January, Grok found itself in another scandal due to its ability to create images of naked real people and minors.
The British organization Internet Watch Foundation noted that its analysts discovered "criminal materials" involving children aged 11 to 13, allegedly created using Grok.
Musk stated that he is unaware of any instances where the chatbot was used to generate images of naked minors.
I am not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2026
Obviously, Grok does not spontaneously generate images; it does so only according to user requests.
When asked to generate images, it will refuse to produce anything illegal, as per its operating principle… https://t.co/YBoqo7ZmEj
"Obviously, Grok does not generate spontaneously. It does so based on user prompts," the entrepreneur emphasized.
According to him, the chatbot refuses to create illegal content. However, there may be cases of "hostile hacks" leading to "unexpected results."
On January 11, the Malaysian regulator ordered temporary restrictions following "repeated failures by X Corp" to mitigate risks associated with the AI service.
The day before, Indonesia suspended access to the chatbot due to similar concerns and summoned company representatives for discussions.
Regulators in the EU, UK, Brazil, and India have called for an investigation into Grok's role in the spread of deepfakes.
A coalition of 28 organizations focused on digital rights, women's rights, and children's rights urged Apple and Google leaders to take action and remove X and the chatbot from app stores.
As a reminder, in January, Grok is set to integrate with the Pentagon's network alongside Google's generative AI engine.