Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has now limited the generation of image features on X (Formerly known as Twitter) used by its Grok chatbot, to only paying subscribers, following intense backlash over the creation of sexual images

The move comes after Grok’s image tools were used by some users to generate or edit sexually explicit photos. Reports say that the features had been expoited to create images of women and children in revealing clothing, without them even knowing.

European officials criticized the trend in strong terms as flood of semi-nude images on X grew rapidly.

Germany’s media minister, Wolfram Weimer, condemned the trend as the “industrialization of sexual harassment,” while the European Commission described the content as illegal and deeply troubling.

The European Commission reiterated on Monday that the circulation of such images on X was unlawful, with the UK’s data protection watchdog also saying it had requested explanations from the platform on how it is complying with data protection regulations, amid concerns that Grok was producing sexually abusive content involving women and children

On Friday, Grok notified users on X that generation and editing functions of images would now be accessible to subscribers. However, the standalone Grok app will continue to allow the generation and editing image functions without a paid subscription.

Musk had said last week that users who employ Grok to create illegal material would face the same consequences as those who upload such content directly to the platform.