In a significant regulatory move, two Southeast Asian nations have taken the lead in restricting access to Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok. Indonesia and Malaysia imposed bans over the weekend, citing serious concerns over the tool's ability to generate obscene and non-consensual content.
Governments Cite Human Rights and Security Risks
The Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs announced a temporary ban on Saturday, March 30th. The decision was framed as a protective measure. The ministry stated the action aims "to protect women, children, and the entire community from the risk of fake pornographic content generated using artificial intelligence technology."
Minister Meutya Hafid emphasized the gravity of the issue, declaring that the government views non-consensual deepfake sexual material as a severe violation of human rights, personal dignity, and even national security within the digital realm. The Indonesian authorities have formally requested platform X, formerly Twitter, to provide immediate clarification on the matter.
Following closely, Malaysia's internet regulator, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), announced similar restrictions on Sunday. Access to Grok will be limited until effective safeguards are implemented. The MCMC revealed it had issued notices to both X Corp. and xAI LLC, Musk's AI company, urging them to prevent AI-generated content that violates Malaysian law. However, the regulator found the companies' responses inadequate in addressing the core risks posed by the tool.
Global Backlash and xAI's Response
These national bans followed a controversial decision by xAI on Friday. The company restricted the image-generation feature on the X platform for most users after Grok faced widespread condemnation for creating undressed images of women and children. As a corrective step, xAI now requires users to have a paid subscription to generate and edit images, a feature that was initially offered for free with daily limits.
However, this monetization strategy has been criticized as insufficient by several global regulators, including those in the United Kingdom. A key loophole remains: the standalone Grok app, which operates separately from the X social network, still allows users to generate pictures without a subscription.
India's Position and Actions
The Indian government, which had previously expressed concern over Grok's features, has reportedly received assurances from X regarding compliance with local laws. According to a Sunday report by the Press Trust of India citing unidentified government sources, X has committed to adhering to Indian regulations concerning the obscene content issue.
The report also indicated that proactive measures are already underway. Approximately 3,500 pieces of content have been blocked in India, and over 600 accounts have been deleted in connection with the Grok AI controversy.
Responding to the Indonesian block on the X platform, the official Grok account posted, "Sorry for the inconvenience. We are working to resolve this issue." The actions by Indonesia and Malaysia mark a pivotal moment, establishing them as the first countries to enact a full ban on the AI system, setting a potential precedent for other nations grappling with the ethical and legal challenges of generative AI.
