Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, after regulators raised concerns that the tool was being used to generate non-consensual sexual content, including material involving children.
Malaysian regulators ordered temporary restrictions on Grok on Sunday, citing what they described as repeated failures by X Corp, which operates the platform through Musk’s AI firm xAI, to address serious safety risks. The move followed a similar decision by Indonesia a day earlier, where authorities paused access to the chatbot and summoned X officials for talks.
The action came after investigators found that Grok could be used to create and share explicit images without consent, as well as child sexual abuse material. The problem emerged after xAI rolled out updates to Grok’s image-generation tools, making it easier for users to produce images from text prompts. Grok is integrated into X, giving the tool wide reach.
In response to the backlash, xAI said it would limit image generation and editing features to paying subscribers, arguing that the move would close gaps that allowed sexualised content. Musk also said users who create illegal material using Grok would face the same consequences as if they uploaded such content directly to X.
Regulators in both countries said the response fell short. Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission said X relied too heavily on user reports and failed to address risks linked to the design of the AI tool. It said access to Grok would remain restricted until stronger safeguards are in place, especially to protect women and children.
Indonesia’s communications minister, Meutya Hafid, described non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights and labelled the misuse of AI for fake pornography as digital-based violence.
The controversy has drawn global attention. Authorities in the European Union, the UK, Brazil and India have launched or considered probes into Grok. In the UK, the Internet Watch Foundation said analysts found criminal images of children that appeared to have been created using the tool.
In the United States, some Democratic lawmakers have urged app stores to suspend Grok until tougher protections are introduced.
