Indonesia and Malaysia have blocked Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, becoming the first countries to impose national bans over the tool’s role in generating sexualized and manipulated images of women and minors.
Officials in both Muslim majority countries said the decision was aimed at protecting the public from fake pornographic content created using artificial intelligence.
Indonesia cited risks to women and children, while Malaysia pointed to repeated misuse involving obscene and nonconsensual images.
Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk's Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes https://t.co/hazIY56sjq
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 12, 2026
Grok, developed by Musk’s xAI and embedded in his social media platform X, has drawn growing international criticism after a viral trend allowed users to digitally undress people using the chatbot.
Researchers found a high volume of prompts seeking to remove clothing or create suggestive images.
Musk has defended Grok against calls for stricter controls, framing concerns as censorship. However, regulators in the UK, EU, and India are now examining whether the platform has violated laws on illegal content.
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TIPP Staff
TIPP Staff
TIPP Staff
