Indonesia and Malaysia have moved to block access to Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after anger grew over the tool generating sexually explicit images of real people. Both governments announced the restrictions over the weekend, citing concerns about non-consensual and explicit content spreading online.
Indonesia said on Saturday it temporarily blocked access to Grok, and Malaysia followed with a similar announcement on Sunday. Officials in both countries linked the move to explicit, AI-generated images that began circulating widely on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, where users can prompt Grok to create images of real individuals.
Why Grok was blocked
According to Indonesia’s communications and digital affairs minister Meutya Hafid, 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 restrictions come amid growing outrage about the chatbot’s image-generation features and how they have been used.
In recent weeks, sexually explicit images generated by Grok have spread rapidly across X. Concerns increased further when the tool went viral for an “undressing trend,” in which users asked Grok to digitally remove clothing from photos, including cases that created sexualised deepfakes involving minors.
How Grok’s features differ from other AI tools
The controversy has focused on the ease of generating images of real people through prompts on X. The report said Grok has not had strong preventative initiatives in place against creating images of real people, compared with several other AI platforms.
This issue became more visible as the explicit, AI-generated images circulated widely online, triggering public criticism and government action. Indonesia and Malaysia framed their restrictions around harms linked to non-consensual and explicit content in the digital space.
Indonesia and Malaysia’s broader approach to online content
Indonesia has a record of strict enforcement related to pornographic material online. The country has previously banned websites such as Pornhub and OnlyFans.
Indonesia has also restricted other major digital platforms in the past, including a temporary block of TikTok in 2018 due to claims that some videos on the app contained explicit sexual content and posed a threat to children. The latest move adds Grok to a list of digital services Indonesia has acted against when officials said content crossed legal or social lines.
Malaysia has also tightened scrutiny of online platforms, according to the report. Regulators in Malaysia have announced plans to bar children under 16 from social media, at least partly in response to high-profile cases of online bullying linked to the deaths of minors.
International reaction and platform response
The backlash over Grok’s image generation has extended beyond Southeast Asia. The report said Keir Starmer has criticised the platform.
In the United States, senators Ron Wyden, Ed Markey and Ben Ray Lujan sent a letter urging Apple and Google to remove Grok from their app stores, according to the report. These reactions have added to pressure on the tool and the companies connected to it.
The report also said that, last week, X restricted Grok’s image-generation features to paid subscribers. That change followed the growing concerns over explicit and non-consensual content tied to the chatbot’s outputs.
