Malaysia and Indonesia become first to ban Musk's Grok chatbot
Photo: The ban was triggered by generating images of naked women and children (Getty Images)
Last weekend, Indonesia and Malaysia restricted access to Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot. These countries became the first to ban the artificial intelligence system due to its generation of sexually explicit content, according to Bloomberg.
On Saturday, January 10, the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Technologies announced a temporary ban on Grok in order to protect women, children, and society as a whole "due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content."
The Ministry also asked the social media platform X to provide an immediate explanation of the issue.
"The government views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space," said Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid.
On Sunday, January 11, Malaysia's internet regulator also announced that it was restricting access to Grok until effective protective measures are put in place.
Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Commission added that it had sent notices to X Corp. and xAI LLC demanding that they prevent the creation of AI-generated content that may violate Malaysian law. However, the companies' responses did not eliminate the inherent risks associated with the AI tool.
Grok responded to the ban in Indonesia with a statement on X: "We apologize for the inconvenience. We are working to resolve this issue."
The decisions by Southeast Asian countries followed a move by Musk's xAI company, which owns Grok, to restrict image-generation features for most X users on Friday, January 9. The decision came after widespread backlash over the AI creating images of naked women and children.
Users now need a paid subscription to generate and edit images. Previously, these features were available for free on X, though with daily limits.
The Indian government, which had earlier raised concerns about the AI tool's features, received assurances from X that it would comply with local obscenity laws. Media reports indicated that approximately 3,500 pieces of content were blocked and more than 600 accounts were removed.
Where else may bans follow
Earlier, GB News reported that the UK had held talks with Canada and Australia about a possible ban on the social media platform X, with the Grok chatbot and the recent scandal cited as key reasons.
According to the report, Australia and Canada share the UK's stance. Meanwhile, the US threatened sanctions against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the UK if X is banned.
