Jakarta [Indonesia], January 10 (ANI): Indonesia has become the first country to fully suspend access to Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, amid rising concerns over misuse of AI to create sexualised images without consent, CBS News reported.
The decision follows reports that Grok’s image-generation feature allowed users to edit photos of women and children into sexually suggestive content using simple text prompts. CBS News verified that the tool could modify images of women, including public figures like US First Lady Melania Trump, to depict them in bikinis or minimal clothing.
Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the suspension aims to protect vulnerable groups. “In order to protect women, children, and the public from the risks of fake pornographic content generated using artificial intelligence technology, the government… has temporarily blocked access to the Grok application,” Hafid said. She added that non-consensual deepfake practices constitute a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and citizen security in digital spaces.
While Grok has faced restrictions in other countries, Indonesia is the first to completely deny access. Elsewhere, the platform has limited some features to paying subscribers, a move criticised by European officials and digital rights campaigners as inadequate.
xAI issued a brief statement to CBS News saying, “Legacy Media Lies,” without further clarification, which appeared to be an automated reply.
In India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has also taken action, writing to X (formerly Twitter) over its failure to comply with statutory due diligence obligations under the IT Act, 2000. MeitY requested an Action Taken Report to prevent the generation and circulation of obscene or sexually explicit content through AI tools such as Grok. The ministry warned that failure to comply could result in loss of exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act and other legal consequences.
Concerns are growing across Europe as well. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that “all options are on the table,” including a possible ban on Grok, while authorities evaluate risks posed by AI-generated deepfake content.
In the US, Senator Ted Cruz criticised the spread of explicit AI-generated images, noting they violate his legislation, the Take It Down Act, as well as X’s terms and conditions. Cruz called for stronger safeguards to protect victims’ privacy and dignity.
Elon Musk responded last week, warning users against illegal activity and stating that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face consequences equivalent to uploading unlawful material.
As global scrutiny intensifies, governments and regulators are increasingly questioning whether existing safeguards are sufficient to prevent harmful misuse of AI-generated digital content. (ANI)
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