Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk's Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes

Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok over its ability to produce sexually explicit deepfakes.

Grok, a tool on Musk's X platform, allows users to generate images. In recent weeks however, it has been used to edit images of real people to show them in revealing outfits.

The South East Asian countries said Grok could be used to produce pornographic and non-consensual images involving women and children. They are the first in the world to ban the AI tool.

The BBC has contacted the Grok platform for comment. Musk had said earlier that critics of his platform are looking for "any excuse for censorship".

Grok, and its parent company X, also face pressure in Britain, after Technology Secretary Liz Kendall backed calls to block access to the social media platform for failing to follow online safety laws.

Malaysia and Indonesia's communications ministries announced their move against Grok in separate statements over the weekend.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said on Sunday that it issued notices to X earlier in the year to seek tighter measures after it found "repeated misuse" of Grok to generate harmful content.

But in its response, X failed to address the inherent risks of its platform's design and focused mainly on the reporting process for users, the regulator said.

It added that Grok will be blocked until effective safeguards are implemented and urged the public to report harmful online content.

Using Grok to produce sexually explicit content is a violation of human rights, dignity and online safety, Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's communications and digital affairs minister, said in a post on Instagram.

The ministry has also asked Musk's X to provide a clarification on the use of Grok.

Indonesian authorities have cracked down on other online sources of pornographic material in recent years, with platforms such as OnlyFans and Pornhub already banned in the country.

Indonesian X users who found their manipulated pictures on the platform said they felt angry that this was allowed to happen.

Kirana Ayuningtyas, a wheelchair user who posts online about her daily experiences, found that a stranger had commented on her picture with a prompt asking for Grok to depict her wearing a bikini.

Ayuningtyas said she adjusted her privacy settings and contacted the platform to get the image removed prevent users from editing her photos.

"Unfortunately, none of that really worked," she said, adding that it was hard to tell if someone out there is holding on to the images.

She asked her friends to report the accounts that published her faked images, but doing so meant even more people see the edited images, which is deeply embarrassing for her.

British media regulator Ofcom is expected to soon decide on what to do about Grok.

The use of Grok to generate sexualised images has been condemned by leaders worldwide, including UK Prime Ministry Keir Starmer, who called it "disgraceful" and "disgusting".