Grok AI Faces First-Ever Country Bans as Concerns Rise Over Sexualized Deepfake Images

Indonesia and Malaysia Impose Historic Ban on Grok AI Over Deepfake Misuse.

Indonesia and Malaysia have become the first countries in the world to block access to Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot linked to Elon Musk’s social media platform X, following widespread misuse of the tool to generate sexualized and manipulated images.

The decision comes after Grok’s image-editing and generation features were repeatedly used to create non-consensual and explicit content involving women and, in some cases, minors. The trend, often described as “digital undressing,” triggered significant public backlash and raised urgent concerns among regulators.

Indonesia’s Minister for Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, said the ban was introduced to protect women, children, and the wider public from the growing risks of AI-generated pornographic content. Malaysian authorities followed with a temporary suspension, citing repeated violations involving obscene and indecent imagery created through the platform.

Both countries enforce strict anti-pornography laws and described the misuse of AI technology as a serious legal and social threat.

Grok, developed by Musk’s AI company xAI, operates directly within X and also through standalone applications. Unlike many mainstream AI models, Grok has been criticized for relatively weak content restrictions, allowing users to manipulate images in ways that critics say promote exploitation and abuse.

The controversy intensified after researchers analyzed tens of thousands of Grok-generated images and user prompts, finding a high frequency of requests related to clothing removal and sexualized portrayals. A significant portion of images depicted individuals in minimal or suggestive attire.

International scrutiny has since expanded beyond Southeast Asia. Regulators in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and India have all raised concerns about Grok’s safeguards. On Monday, the UK’s communications regulator opened a formal investigation into whether X has met its legal obligations to protect users from illegal content.

While Musk has publicly argued that governments are using regulation to suppress free speech, xAI has stated that accounts generating illegal material may face suspension. Recent changes limiting some image-generation features to paid users have failed to fully address the issue, as similar functions remain accessible through other channels.

If regulators determine that laws have been breached, X could face substantial financial penalties in certain jurisdictions, marking a significant test for how governments worldwide respond to the rapid spread of generative AI tools.

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