Indonesia became the first country to block Elon Musk-owned Grok chatbot on Saturday, January 10, due to the risk of spreading pornographic content generated using AI. The decision comes after researchers and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content on the application.
Gork built startup xAI stated that it is estricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried to fix safeguard lapses that had allowed sexualised outputs, including depictions of scantily clad children.
“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,” Communications and digital minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement.
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The Indonesian ministry also summoned X officials to discuss the matter. Elon Musk reacted to the news and anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content.
The block includes switching of Grok's image creation function on Friday for the vast majority of users after the widespread outcry about its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery. The tool has also been used to manipulate images of women to remove their clothes and put them in sexualised positions. The function to do so has been switched off except for paying subscribers.