Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, January 10–12, 2026 — Indonesia and Malaysia have become the first countries in the world to block access to Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said the tool was widely misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual deepfake images. Both governments cited serious concerns about digital safety, human rights, and the lack of effective safeguards within the platform.
Governments Say Safeguards Were Inadequate and Abuse Was Widespread
Indonesia’s government temporarily blocked access to Grok on January 10, 2026, following reports that users were generating and sharing manipulated images involving adults and minors. The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said such content poses a “serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space.” Officials emphasized that the action aimed to protect women, children and the broader community from fake pornographic material created with AI technology.
The following day, January 11, 2026, Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) imposed a similar temporary restriction. The regulator reported “repeated misuse” of the Grok chatbot to produce obscene, sexually explicit and non-consensual manipulated images, including content featuring women and minors. Malaysian officials criticized responses from X Corp. and xAI for depending primarily on user reporting systems rather than robust automated moderation to prevent harmful outputs.
Indonesian digital space regulators also warned that Grok lacked effective protective safeguards to prevent the creation and spread of explicit content, particularly when photos of real people were altered without their consent. Authorities said such deepfake practices risk violating privacy and image rights and can cause “psychological, social and reputational harm.”
Grok, which was launched in 2023 and is accessible through Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter), includes an image generation feature called Grok Imagine. Last year, the system added a controversial “spicy mode” that allowed the production of adult content, drawing criticism from regulators and digital rights advocates worldwide.
The Southeast Asian restrictions follow broader global scrutiny of generative AI platforms. Other governments, including authorities in the European Union, Britain, India and France, have also reviewed Grok and similar tools amid concerns about harmful and deepfake content. In response to international pressure, xAI recently limited image generation and editing features to paying users, but critics contend that these changes have not fully prevented misuse.
