LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok is preventing non-paying users from generating or editing images after a global backlash erupted over sexualized deepfakes of people, but the change has not satisfied authorities in Europe.
The chatbot, which is accessed through Musk's social media platform X, has in the past few weeks been granting a wave of what researchers say are malicious user requests to modify images, including putting women in bikinis or in sexually explicit positions.
Researchers have warned that in a few cases, some images appeared to depict children. Governments around the world have condemned the platform and opened investigations.
On Friday, Grok responded to image altering requests with the message: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features.”
While subscriber numbers for Grok aren't publicly available, there was a noticeable decline Friday in the number of explicit deepfakes that Grok is now generating compared with just days earlier.
Grok was still granting image requests but only from X users with blue checkmarks given to premium subscriber who pay $8 a month for features including higher usage limits for the chatbot.
The Associated Press on Friday confirmed Friday afternoon that the image editing tool was still available to free users on the standalone Grok website and app.
An X spokesperson didn't respond immediately to a request for comment.
The restrictions for users save for paying subscribers did not appear to change the opinions of leaders or regulators in Europe.
“This doesn't change our fundamental issue. Paid subscription or non-paid subscription, we don't want to see such images. It's as simple as that,” said Thomas Regnier, a spokesman for the European Union's executive Commission. The Commission had earlier slammed Grok for “illegal” and “appalling” behavior.
The British government was also unsatisfied.
Grok’s changes are “not a solution," said Geraint Ellis, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who on Thursday had threatened unspecified action against X.
“In fact, it is insulting to the victims of misogyny and sexual violence,” he said, noting that it shows that X “can move swiftly when it wants to do so.”
“We expect rapid action,” he said, adding that “all options are on the table.”
Starmer, speaking to Greatest Hits radio, had said that X needs to "get their act together and get this material down. We will take action on this because it’s simply not tolerable.”
The U.K.'s media and privacy regulators both said this week they’ve contacted X and Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI for information on measures taken to comply with British regulations.
France, Malaysia and India have also been scrutinizing the platform and a Brazilian lawmaker has called for an investigation. The European Commission has ordered X to retain all internal documents and data relating to Grok until the end of 2026, as part of a wider investigation under the EU’s digital safety law.
Grok is free to use for X users, who can ask it questions on the social media platform. They can either tag it in posts they've directly created or in replies to posts from other users.
Grok launched in 2023. Last summer the company added an image generator feature, Grok Imagine, that included a so-called “spicy mode” that can generate adult content.
The problem is amplified both because Musk pitches his chatbot as an edgier alternative to rivals with more safeguards, and because Grok’s images are publicly visible, and can therefore be easily spread.
AP writers Jill Lawless in London and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
FILE - Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, July 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
ALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria (AP) — Lindsey Vonn showed again Saturday she is the standout downhill racer in this Olympic season.
Vonn won her second World Cup downhill in four races this season, raising expectations in this remarkable comeback racing at age 41 with her right knee rebuilt using titanium implants.
The United States star was 0.37 seconds faster than Kajsa Vickhoff Lie in tricky, overcast conditions. Vonn was jumping up cheering in the leader’s box when her teammate Jacqueline Wiles raced into third place, 0.48 back.
On a shortened course that took her fewer than 67 seconds to complete, Vonn still clocked 130 kph (81 mph) for one of the fastest speeds any women racer will hit this season.
“It feels amazing. I try to enjoy every single second I am out here because it is just so fun to go fast,” she said.
Vonn crossed the finish line with a look of determined satisfaction, punching the air with her right fist and nodding with short, sharp movements of her head.
“I knew what it was going to take to win today," she said. "It was a sprint and I had to give it everything I had, definitely had to risk a little bit.”
With each victory, Vonn extends her record as the oldest race winner in the 60-season history of the World Cup circuit. Her 84th career win on the circuit was her record-extending 45th in downhill.
The United States star later made a family video phone call alongside her coach Aksel Lund Svindal, the men’s downhill champion at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics where Vonn took bronze in the women’s race.
Vonn was Olympic downhill champion at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and shapes as a strong contender for the next gold medal race scheduled Feb. 8 on the first Sunday at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
It is at the storied Cortina d’Ampezzo slope where Vonn has excelled in her career, including a World Cup downhill win eight years ago where Wiles also was third.
“Being on the podium again with her is super special,” Wiles said.
Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic champion, was only 17th Saturday trailing Vonn by 0.97.
The defending Olympic champion, Corinne Suter, made her season debut Saturday after injuries and was more than a second slower than Vonn.
The U.S. team had five racers in the top 20 with world champion Breezy Johnson seventh, 21-year-old Allison Mollin a career-best 14th and Keely Cashman tied for 18th, less than a second behind Vonn.
The race was delayed for 25 minutes while Austrian prospect Magdalena Egger was airlifted from the course after a season-ending fall and crash into the safety nets. She stood up with a bloodied nose, and later tests showed extensive damage to her right knee including a torn ACL, the Austrian ski federation said.
Egger was runner-up in Vonn’s season-opening downhill win last month at St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Vonn extended her lead in the season-long World Cup downhill standings, after finishing second and third in the other races. Saturday’s race was the fourth of nine scheduled downhills in the World Cup this season.
She earned 100 race points and now leads by 129 from Emma Aicher of Germany, who placed sixth Saturday. Vonn is chasing a ninth World Cup downhill season title a full 10 years after her eighth, when she also won in Zauchensee.
“I felt like I was skiing better in super-G this summer," she said, "but when I got to the races in St Moritz everything was working really well right from the start.”
On Sunday, Vonn will start in a super-G that should be on a longer course than the downhill.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
United States' Lindsey Vonn sprays sparkling wine as she celebrates on podium after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn is airborne as she speeds down the course to win an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Austria's Magdalena Egger is lifted on a helicopter after crashing during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Austria's Magdalena Egger gets medical assistance after crashing during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
United States' Lindsey Vonn is airborne as he speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
