UK Government Criticizes Elon Musk's Grok AI for Insulting Victims

Sat Jan 10 2026 06:52:11 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Downing Street condemns X's decision to limit Grok AI image edits to premium users, labeling it as insulting to victims of violence and misogyny. Ongoing backlash follows inappropriate features of the AI.

The UK government has expressed outrage at Elon Musk's decision to limit access to Grok AI's image editing features to paid users only, calling it 'insulting' to victims of misogyny and sexual violence. The prime minister's office has urged immediate action from the social media platform X, emphasizing that limiting such capabilities should not come at a cost and that responsibility lies with the platform to prevent misuse. Calls for regulatory intervention and an investigation into X are increasing, as the move has been criticized for profiting from potential abuse.

The UK government says Elon Musk's platform X limiting Grok AI image edits to paid users is insulting to victims of misogyny and sexual violence.

Speaking on Friday, Downing Street said the move simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service.

It follows significant backlash after Grok digitally altered images of others by undressing them - something it says it now can only do for those who pay a monthly fee.

However, it has no such restrictions when accessed through its edit image functionality, separate app or website.

The BBC has approached X for comment.

The prime minister's official spokesperson told reporters on Friday it showed X can move swiftly when it wants to do so.

They said it was abundantly clear that X needs to act and needs to act now.

They added: It is time for X to grip this issue; if another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash.

The Liberal Democrats have called for access to X to be temporarily restricted in the UK while the social media site is investigated.

Professor Clare McGlynn, an expert in the legal regulation of pornography and sexual violence, stated: Musk has thrown his toys out of the pram in protest at being held to account for the tsunami of abuse. Instead of taking the responsible steps to ensure Grok could not be used for abusive purposes, it has withdrawn access for the vast majority of users.

Charities campaigning to end violence towards women also criticized X over the move. Emma Pickering of Refuge said limiting access to paying subscribers represents the monetization of abuse.

As of Friday morning, Grok has stated that image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers and suggests users can subscribe to unlock these features. This restriction does not remove the potential for misuse, leading many to question the adequacy of the response.

Regulatory bodies are being urged to take immediate action to ensure that platforms like X are accountable for the content generated and shared on their services.