Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to ban Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot created by Elon Musk’s xAI, marking a notable move in government regulation of AI technology. The decision follows a massive global controversy surrounding the tool’s “nudification” features, which have flooded the internet with nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes of women and minors.
Regulators in both Southeast Asian countries stated that existing safeguards on the platform were insufficient to prevent the creation and spread of obscene content. In Indonesia, Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid announced a temporary block on Saturday, labeling the generation of sexual deepfakes a “serious violation of human rights and dignity.”
Malaysia followed Indonesia’s decision to ban Grok in the country
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission followed suit on Sunday, citing the “repeated misuse” of Grok to generate grossly offensive and indecent images. Both nations are Muslim-majority countries with stringent anti-pornography laws and have indicated that access will remain restricted until xAI implements effective technical and moderation safeguards.
The bans in Southeast Asia are likely to be a precursor for similar actions in the West, where regulatory pressure is reaching a breaking point. On Monday, the United Kingdom’s media regulator, Ofcom, launched a formal investigation into X to determine whether it has complied with its legal duties under the Online Safety Act to protect users from illegal content.
Menteri Komunikasi dan Digital (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid menegaskan pemblokiran akses sementara terhadap Grok, aplikasi chatbot berbasis kecerdasan artifisial (AI), merupakan upaya pemerintah untuk melindungi perempuan dan anak.
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British Technology Secretary Liz Kendall warned that the government would “support” a total ban on the platform should Ofcom find it necessary, describing the activity on Grok as “despicable and abhorrent.”
The European Commission is closely monitoring X’s chatbot
In Europe, the European Commission has signaled it is “very seriously looking” into complaints regarding Grok under the Digital Services Act. EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier stated that the generation of sexualized images of children has “no place in Europe,” and the Commission has already ordered X to preserve all internal records related to Grok through the end of 2026.
In France, the Paris prosecutor’s office has expanded an ongoing investigation into X to include accusations of generating and disseminating child pornography. Other Western nations, including Australia and Canada, are also reportedly considering regulatory action after their respective leaders condemned the exploitative use of generative AI. The controversy marks a major test for Musk’s xAI, which has marketed Grok as an “edgy” and anti-censorship alternative to mainstream models like ChatGPT or Gemini. While xAI recently restricted image generation to paying subscribers in an attempt to curb the abuse, regulators in both the UK and EU dismissed the move as “insulting” and “insufficient,” arguing that placing a paywall on the ability to create illegal content does not address the underlying safety failures.
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