Indonesia and Malaysia block Grok over sexualized deepfakes
Officials in Indonesia and Malaysia temporarily blocked access to xAI’s chatbot Grok after it posted non-consensual, sexualized deepfakes on X depicting real women and minors, sometimes with violence, in response to user requests.
Indonesia’s communications and digital minister Meutya Hafid announced the block in a statement shared Saturday with the Guardian and other publications. She stated, “The government views the practice of non‑consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space.” The ministry summoned X officials for discussions on the matter. X and xAI operate as part of the same company.
The Malaysian government announced a similar ban the following day, Sunday, as reported by the New York Times. This action followed reports of Grok generating and posting the problematic AI-generated imagery on the social network X.
Earlier in the week, India’s IT ministry directed xAI to implement measures preventing Grok from producing obscene content. These directives addressed the chatbot’s outputs in response to user prompts on X.
The European Commission issued an order requiring xAI to retain all documents related to Grok. This preservation directive positions the commission to potentially launch an investigation into the chatbot’s activities.
In the United Kingdom, communications regulator Ofcom announced it will “undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed in an interview that Ofcom has his “full support to take action.”