Indonesia has become the first country to block Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot after authorities said the artificial intelligence tool was being used to generate non-consensual sexual deepfake images, including explicit and pornographic depictions of women and children.
The government said the move was taken to protect citizens from what it called rapidly escalating digital harm. Communications and digital affairs minister Meutya Hafid said the state was responding to the spread of non-consensual sexual deepfakes, describing them as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and public safety in the digital space.
Hafid said access to Grok had been temporarily blocked to protect women, children and the wider public from fake pornographic content created using artificial intelligence.
The decision follows growing international concern over Grok’s integration into Elon Musk’s social media platform X, which allows users to generate or manipulate images by tagging the chatbot in posts. In recent weeks, the platform has been flooded with altered and fabricated images, many involving partially unclothed women and minors. The Internet Watch Foundation has warned that criminals are already exploiting the feature to create child sexual abuse material.
After public backlash, X restricted full AI image generation to paying subscribers and required users to provide identifying information, but critics say the measures are inadequate. Free users can still manipulate images through X’s editing tools and Grok’s standalone website.
Indonesia, which has strict online obscenity laws, has summoned X representatives following the temporary block. The UK government is also reviewing whether X is breaching the Online Safety Act, with media regulator Ofcom considering possible action. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said she would support Ofcom if it decided to block the platform, calling the sexual manipulation of images of women and children despicable and abhorrent.
Under UK law, Ofcom can seek a court order to prevent companies from hosting or monetising X in Britain if they refuse to comply with safety rules.
Elon Musk has dismissed the criticism, accusing opponents of seeking censorship. In one controversial post, he shared an AI-generated image of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a bikini, claiming critics were trying to suppress free speech.
Reports from late December said Grok was producing degrading edits of women dozens of times per minute, with users instructing the bot to create explicit or abusive images, including digitally undressing women or fabricating sexualised scenes involving mothers and children.
X said it removes illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, permanently suspends offending accounts, and works with law enforcement when necessary, adding that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same penalties as if they uploaded it directly.
Discover more from Niyi Daram
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
