Malaysia and Indonesia have taken action to block Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot created by xAI, Elon Musk’s company. This decision comes amidst rising concerns globally over the misuse of Grok to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual content. The move reflects an increasing focus on generative AI tools that can produce realistic images, sound, and text, raising worries about the inadequacy of current safeguards in preventing their misuse.
The Grok chatbot, accessible through Musk’s social media platform X, has faced criticism for producing manipulated images, including those depicting women in bikinis, sexually suggestive poses, and images involving children. Following a worldwide backlash regarding sexualized deepfakes, Grok recently limited image generation and editing to paying users, but critics argue that this action did not fully resolve the issue.
Authorities in Malaysia and Indonesia expressed concerns about the creation and dissemination of fake pornographic content, particularly involving women and minors, through Grok. Indonesia temporarily blocked access to the chatbot on Saturday, with Malaysia following suit on Sunday. Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid emphasized the government’s stance against non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a violation of human rights, dignity, and digital safety.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission imposed a temporary restriction on Grok due to repeated misuse of the platform for generating obscene and sexually explicit manipulated images involving women and minors. The regulator highlighted that responses from X Corp. and xAI to demands for stronger safeguards mainly relied on user reporting mechanisms. The restriction will remain in place until effective safeguards are implemented.
Grok, launched in 2023 and available for free on X, allows users to engage with the chatbot on the social media platform, with features like the Grok Imagine image generator, including an adult content “spicy mode.” The Southeast Asian restrictions coincide with increased scrutiny of Grok in other regions, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, India, and France.
UK’s media regulator, Ofcom, announced a formal investigation into Grok’s compliance with protecting individuals in the UK from illegal content. Concerns were raised that Grok-generated images could potentially constitute pornography or child sexual abuse material, prompting a deeper examination. Canada, unlike Malaysia and Indonesia, is not contemplating a ban on X, as AI Minister Evan Solomon confirmed discussions regarding the deepfake controversy are ongoing.
