Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, citing concerns that the tool is being used to generate non-consensual, sexually explicit, and obscene content, including material involving women and children.
The coordinated action over the weekend marks the first known bans of the AI tool globally and adds to growing regulatory pressure on xAI and its parent platform, X.
Regulators cite failures in safeguards
Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission ordered temporary restrictions on Grok on Sunday, pointing to what it described as “repeated failures by X Corp” to address content risks associated with the chatbot.
The regulator said X’s responses were “insufficient” and relied too heavily on user reporting mechanisms rather than addressing structural risks in the design of the AI tool.
“Accordingly, the restriction is imposed as a preventive and proportionate measure while legal and regulatory processes are ongoing,” the commission said.
“Access to Grok will remain restricted until effective safeguards are implemented, particularly to prevent content involving women and children.”
Indonesia imposed a similar temporary block a day earlier.
Its Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs said it had asked X officials to clarify the matter, stressing that misuse of AI to generate fake pornography constitutes “digital-based violence.”
Minister Meutya Hafid said, “The government views non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and citizens’ security in the digital space.”
Both countries enforce strict anti-pornography laws, which ban the online distribution of obscene or sexual material.
Allegations of misuse and global scrutiny
The bans follow reports that Grok enabled users to generate and share non-consensual explicit images, including child sexual abuse material.
The Internet Watch Foundation told NBC News it had seen dark web users sharing “criminal imagery” they said was created using Grok, depicting underage girls virtually undressed.
Wired also reported that the tool had been used to digitally strip women in photos wearing modest or religious clothing such as hijabs, saris, and nuns’ habits.
Grok’s reach expanded recently after xAI updated its “Grok Imagine” features, making image generation from text prompts easier and integrating the tool more deeply with X.
Authorities in other regions, including the European Union, the UK, Brazil, and India, have also launched probes into Grok’s role in facilitating obscene and non-consensual deepfakes.
In the US, some Democratic lawmakers have urged app stores to suspend the AI tool until stronger safeguards are in place.
Amid the backlash, xAI said it would limit image generation and editing features to paying subscribers in an effort to close safeguard gaps.
Musk said on X that users creating illegal content via Grok would face consequences equivalent to uploading such material directly to the social media platform.
However, regulators said those steps did not go far enough.
CNBC reported that attempts to contact xAI for comment returned an automatic reply stating, “Legacy Media Lies.”
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