Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first nations globally to implement access restrictions against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, citing its capacity to generate non-consensual explicit imagery. The controversial image-generation tool, integrated within Musk’s X platform, has faced mounting criticism for enabling users to create sexually suggestive deepfakes by digitally altering photographs of real individuals.
Communications regulators in both Southeast Asian countries announced their decisive actions through separate weekend statements. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission revealed it had previously issued notices to X earlier this year requesting enhanced protective measures after documenting ‘repeated misuse’ of Grok to produce harmful content. According to the regulator, X’s response failed to adequately address fundamental platform design risks, focusing primarily on user reporting mechanisms instead.
Indonesian Communications Minister Meutya Hafid characterized Grok’s explicit content generation as a violation of human rights, personal dignity, and digital safety in an official Instagram statement. The ministry has concurrently demanded that X provide comprehensive clarification regarding Grok’s operational protocols.
The restrictions will remain effective until X implements satisfactory safeguarding mechanisms, with authorities urging citizens to report harmful online materials. This development occurs amid increasing global pressure for similar actions, particularly in the United Kingdom where Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has expressed willingness to support regulatory intervention.
Personal accounts highlight the tool’s damaging real-world impact. Kirana Ayuningtyas, an Indonesian disability advocate who shares her daily experiences online, discovered strangers using Grok to generate bikini-clad artificial images of her. Despite adjusting privacy settings and requesting platform intervention, she found existing protective measures fundamentally inadequate against such misuse.
The growing international condemnation includes UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s characterization of Grok’s explicit image capabilities as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘disgusting’. The situation presents a critical test case for balancing technological innovation against fundamental digital rights and safety protections.