Irish officials have condemned X’s decision to put some of its Grok AI image-editing tools behind a paywall, calling the move “window dressing” that fails to address the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes, including images of children, on the platform.
Niamh Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for AI, said X had informed her it would meet with her in the coming weeks after she requested talks earlier this week. But she said restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers does nothing to stop illegal content from being created or shared elsewhere on the platform or beyond.
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“It doesn’t really mean anything in terms of the dissemination of those images,” Smyth said at the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. “Any opportunity that there is online to disseminate images that are of child pornography, that are of child abuse, is illegal in this country.” She added: “Making a subscription a pay-wall doesn’t give me any comfort and certainly wouldn’t give the Irish Government or parents who might be concerned.”
Since late December, new image-editing features on Grok have enabled users to create sexually explicit images of people, including children, prompting widespread criticism. Users now attempting to prompt Grok to alter images are seeing a platform message: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers,” along with directions on how to subscribe. In a reply to one user, Grok said the change was “effective today” and “addresses recent misuse concerns,” while noting that basic Q&A remains free.
Smyth said she has disabled her own X profile and would encourage others to do the same. She plans to meet next week with Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland’s media regulator, and urged a stronger European response. “We need the heavy hand of the European Union to help us with this, in relation to this imagery being disseminated on X,” she said.
Coimisiún na Meán said it is engaging with the European Commission over the concerns. The regulator’s involvement raises the prospect of EU-level scrutiny under the bloc’s digital rules as officials weigh whether existing oversight is keeping pace with rapidly evolving generative AI features.
Children’s Ombudsman Dr. Niall Muldoon dismissed the paywall as a meaningful safeguard. “What you’re saying is you’ve got an opportunity to abuse, but you have to pay for it,” he said, adding that making deepfake tools more mainstream is “a really dangerous step up.” He said his office and a youth advisory panel have flagged the risks of deepfakes for two years.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said the debate is not about whether users pay, but whether the technology itself is performing functions that “clearly, to any right-thinking person, are not permissible.” He said large technology companies are no longer “self-supervisable” and pointed to European legislation, including the Digital Services Act, as evidence of a shift away from self-regulation. “The question now is, is that current infrastructure robust enough and keeping at pace with the fast-changing technology?” Harris said. He urged anyone in Ireland who experiences “modification” or “nudification” of their image online to contact An Garda Síochána.
Minister for Communications, Culture and Sport Patrick O’Donovan said he deactivated his X account on Friday, citing a “wave of abuse” on the platform and discomfort with being present on a service where harmful content can be created, regardless of a pay barrier. “If you’re on a platform where this is allowed, regardless of whether you’re paying for it or not, I just don’t feel comfortable with it,” he said on Limerick’s Live95. O’Donovan also criticized the European Union’s patchwork response, saying the European Commission and the bloc “has been found wanting” in establishing a single, harmonized approach to online child protection. “All member states are doing their own thing,” he said.
Women’s Aid chief executive Sarah Benson said “nothing has materially changed” as a result of X’s move, warning that degrading, humiliating and in some cases illegal material remains possible to produce and share. She called for “nudification” and deepfake apps to be stopped or banned, saying she sees no benefit to them.
X has been contacted for comment. The company has previously said it takes action against illegal content on the platform, including child sexual abuse material, by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with governments and law enforcement agencies.
The backlash underscores the growing tension between rapid deployment of AI features and child-safety safeguards. Placing image-generation tools behind a paywall might limit casual misuse, experts and advocates argue, but it does not remove the capacity for harm—particularly when images can be generated off-platform and shared on X or elsewhere. Irish officials’ calls for EU intervention hint at a broader regulatory push to test whether existing frameworks are sufficient to tackle AI-enabled abuse at scale.
Smyth’s planned meetings with both X and Coimisiún na Meán, alongside the regulator’s engagement with the European Commission, suggest the issue is moving from public criticism to policy scrutiny. For now, Grok’s core image-editing functions are accessible only to subscribers, but critics say that barrier does little to curb the creation or circulation of abusive deepfakes, especially those involving children. The coming weeks will test whether platform policy tweaks—or regulatory pressure—can meaningfully reduce the risks.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
