Grok Blocked: AI Image Content Leads to Restrictions in Two Nations
KUALA LUMPUR, malaysia (AP) – Malaysia and Indonesia blocked Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, amid growing global concerns about its misuse to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.
Authorities are increasingly scrutinizing generative AI tools that create realistic images, sound, and text. Concerns center on the failure of existing safeguards to prevent abuse. The Grok chatbot, accessible through Musk’s social media platform X, faced criticism for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, and images involving children.
“The government sees nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights,dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space,” said Indonesian Interaction and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid.
Scrutiny of grok is expanding, including in the European Union, India, france, and the United Kingdom. Britain announced Monday it will criminalize “nudification apps.” The UK’s media regulator also launched an examination into whether Grok broke the law by allowing users to share sexualized images of children.
Last week, Grok limited image generation and editing to paying users following a global backlash over sexualized deepfakes.Critics argue this change didn’t fully resolve the problem.
The Associated press received an automated reply from xAI’s media support address stating, ”Legacy Media Lies,” when requesting comment.