Downing Street has condemned the move by X 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.
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 to remove their clothing or put them in sexual positions.
Grok announced in a post on X, which is owned by Elon Musk, that the ability to generate and edit images would be “limited to paying subscribers”. Those who pay have to provide personal details, meaning they could potentially be identified if the function was misused.
Asked about the change, a Downing Street spokesperson said it was unacceptable. “The move simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service,” they said.
“It’s not a solution. In fact, it’s 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.
“If another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash.”
Asked if No 10 was going to take any further action, such as leaving X, the spokesperson said “all options are on the table”, and that it would support any action taken by Ofcom, the UK’s media regulator.
Speaking earlier on Friday, Anna Turley, the Labour party chair and a minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, said there were no moves as yet for the government to leave X, but individual ministers were considering doing so.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s 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.”
Asked if she would leave the site, Turley said: “I’ve thought about that a lot over the past few months.” Asked whether the Labour party would do so, she said: “Those conversations are taking place because it’s really important that we make sure that we’re in a safe space.”