Elon Musk’s Grok is banned in Malaysia and Indonesia due to sexually explicit deepfakes
Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot is blocked in Malaysia and Indonesia due to the possibility of sexually explicit deepfakes involving women and minors.
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has been blocked in Malaysia and Indonesia due to rising worries about its use in creating non-consensual and sexually explicit deepfake photos.
Users may create and edit photographs using the chatbot, which is linked into Musk’s social networking site X. The tool is increasingly being abused, according to authorities in both nations, to edit photos of actual individuals in ways that are sexualized or revealing without their knowledge.
The decision, which marks the first known national prohibitions of the AI technology worldwide, was made to protect women and children from digital exploitation, according to communications authorities in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
The Communications and Multimedia Commission of Malaysia stated that it has previously sent X warnings asking for more robust protections after finding that Grok was frequently being used to create damaging content. Regulators claimed that rather than addressing the platform’s inherent concerns, the company’s response mostly concentrated on user reporting systems.
The regulator encouraged the public to report hazardous online content and stated that Grok would stay prohibited until sufficient safety measures are implemented.
Human rights and personal dignity are being violated by the creation of sexually explicit AI-generated images, according to Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs. According to her, the ministry had formally asked X for clarification on Grok’s operations and security measures.
Authorities said AI-generated sexual content presented a comparable threat to Indonesia’s prior strong stance against internet pornography, which included blocking websites like OnlyFans and Pornhub.
Numerous users from Indonesia reported that Grok-generated picture alteration had already targeted them. Disability rights activist Kirana Ayuningtyas said that the chatbot altered her photo to show her in a bikini after being persuaded by an unknown individual.
Ayuningtyas reported the image and changed her privacy settings, yet the content was still available. Reporting the photos ran the possibility of them being shared further, she said, characterizing the experience as upsetting and degrading.
In Europe, pressure on Grok is also growing. Liz Kendall, the UK’s technology secretary, has supported demands for more severe action against X because to worries about internet safety, and Ofcom, the media regulator, is anticipated to make a decision regarding possible limitations.
Global leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have condemned the use of AI to produce sexualized deepfakes, calling the content “disgraceful” and “disgusting.”
In the past, Elon Musk has rejected criticism of X as an attempt to defend censorship. Grok and X have both been approached for comment.
