Grok Banned in Indonesia and Malaysia Following Deepfake Image Concerns

Grok has been temporarily suspended in Indonesia and Malaysia. The xAI's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot received global criticism after it began editing images of users posted publicly on X (formerly Twitter). The feature was widely exploited by some users to generate sexually inappropriate images of others without consent, and many countries, including the European Union (EU), India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, had questioned the social media platform and xAI over safety guardrails. Recently, the feature was limited to only verified users, but the companies did not address the core feature that resulted in the sexualised deepfakes.

Indonesia and Malaysia Suspend Grok

In a post on X, the official handle of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) issued a media statement highlighting that Grok was being blocked temporarily in the country after the Elon Musk-owned social media platform failed to implement protective measures.

“This action was taken following repeated misuse of Grok to generate pornographic content, sexually explicit content, grossly indecent content and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and children, despite regulatory engagements having been issued to X and xAI,” the official statement mentioned (translated via Google). Notably, the regulator said it sent notice to both entities on January 3 and on January 8 to demand the implementation of effective technical protection measures and content oversight.

MCMC claimed that in response, X only focused on user-initiated reporting mechanisms and did not provide a solution to directly address the risks that arise from an AI tool that can generate realistic deepfakes.

On Saturday, Indonesia's communication and digital minister, Meutya Hafid, also issued a statement announcing the temporary ban on Grok's services in the country. The statement read, “To protect women, children, and the entire community from the risk of fake pornographic content generated using artificial intelligence technology, the Government, through the Ministry of Communication and Digital, has temporarily suspended access to the Grok application.”

Additionally, the minister called the practice of generating non-consensual sexual deepfakes a “serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space.” The ministry has also asked X to provide clarification about the feature on an urgent basis.