Malaysia and Indonesia have temporarily suspended access to Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok after it was found generating sexually explicit and non-consensual images, including content involving women and minors.
The two Southeast Asian nations Malaysia and Indonesia became the first globally to block Grok, citing serious violations of decency laws, digital safety norms, and human rights.
Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the government views non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a grave threat to dignity and citizen safety in the digital space.
Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) echoed similar concerns, stating that Grok was repeatedly used to produce obscene, offensive, and manipulated images without consent.
Regulators said they had engaged with X and xAI, the company behind Grok, but found their responses inadequate.
According to Malaysia’s MCMC, reliance on user-reporting mechanisms alone does not provide sufficient safeguards to prevent harm or ensure legal compliance.
As a result, access will remain blocked until stronger, proactive controls are implemented.
The bans highlight growing regulatory anxiety around generative AI tools that can easily be misused for creating deepfakes and explicit content.
While Grok was launched in 2023 as part of the global AI race, features such as image generation and relaxed content filters have drawn criticism worldwide.
The move by Malaysia and Indonesia signals that governments may act decisively when AI systems fail to protect users, especially vulnerable groups, reinforcing the need for stricter AI governance and accountability.
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