The Epic Games CEO argues that pornographic AI image generation on the platform – even involving minors – is being used as an excuse to silence political opponents.

Tim Sweeney criticized U.S. lawmakers’ attempt to ban the social media app Twitter and its associated generative AI tool, Grok. The move came after users discovered that Elon Musk’s Grok can generate images of real people, including minors, depicting them nude or in otherwise sexually compromising poses, flooding the platform with such content.

“Reason #42 for open platforms: to shut down every politician’s incessant demands to all gatekeepers to censor their political opponents. All major AIs have documented instances of going off the rails. All major AI companies make their best efforts to combat this; none are perfect. Politicians demanding gatekeepers selectively crush the one that’s their political opponent’s company is basic crony capitalism,” Sweeney wrote, reacting to calls for Apple and Google to remove Twitter and Grok from the Google Play / App Store ecosystem.

All major AIs have documented instances of going off the rails; all major AI companies make their best efforts to combat this; none are perfect. Politicians demanding gatekeepers selectively crush the one that’s their political opponent’s company is basic crony capitalism.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 9, 2026

A 404 Media report earlier this month provided vivid examples of Grok’s newly uncovered capabilities: influencers depicted nude, appearing pregnant, or breastfeeding. Users created this material from images of minors. The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) defines child sexual abuse material (CSAM) as evidence of child sexual abuse, which includes both real and synthetic content, including AI-generated images. One RAINN example of CSAM includes any content that sexualizes or exploits a child for the viewer’s benefit. Since the controversy erupted, Twitter’s only change has been placing Grok’s image-generation feature behind a paywall in replies, meaning Twitter now profits even more directly from Grok’s ability to generate CSAM than before.

This is especially frustrating given that Sweeney has applied censorship for political reasons on the platform that made him a billionaire. In December, the Epic Games Store followed Steam’s example and banned the art game Horses for vague reasons, reportedly due to pressure from conservative activist groups on payment processors to censor transgressive art and legal pornography online. Sweeney appears eager to defend this unprecedented machine of online sexual humiliation while calling for open platforms and free speech, even as he enforces censorship on his own closed platform.

Source: PCGamer, 404 Media, 404 Media, RAINN