Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Grok, the AI chatbot from Elon Musk’s company xAI, after authorities said it was being used to create sexually explicit deepfake images of real people without consent.
Actions Taken by Indonesia and Malaysia
Indonesia acted first on Saturday, and Malaysia followed a day later. Both governments said they made the decision after manipulated images from Grok spread quickly on X, Musk’s social media platform. Officials stated some of these images exhibited sexualized illustrations of real people, and a few reportedly involved juveniles.
Indonesia’s Communications Minister, Meutya Hafid, described the circulation of non-consensual images as “a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and digital safety.”
In addition, authorities also warned that producing or sharing such material could break local laws on pornography and child protection.
Background on Online Regulations in Southeast Asia
Indonesia has a long record of strict online regulation. The government blocked websites like Pornhub and OnlyFans, and it also restricted TikTok in 2018 because officials saw the content as harmful to children.
Officials have raised similar concerns about protecting minors on the internet, and they have discussed limiting social media access for users under 16 after several cases of bullying killed young people.
Global Reactions and Implications
Furthermore,Leaders outside Southeast Asia have also took note of this, such as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Ben Ray Luján, and Ed Markey, criticized Grok, and they called on Apple and Google to remove the app from their stores. A spokesperson for Starmer said that simply limiting the chatbot’s image-generation features to paying users “did not solve the problem” and was “insulting” to victims of sexual violence.
Musk has said on X that users who ask Grok to produce sexualized images of children would face consequences. X Corp and xAI have not responded to requests for comment. The bans highlight growing pressure on governments to act when creators use AI tools to produce realistic images without consent, and they indicate that governments in South Asia, including Pakistan, may soon make similar decisions to protect online safety.