KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia suspended access to Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok over AI-generated pornographic content, the country’s tech regulator said.
The decision follows global backlash after it emerged that Grok’s image creation feature allowed users to sexualise pictures of women and children using simple text prompts.
According to AFP quoting Japan Times, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said on Sunday it had ordered an immediate restriction on Grok for users in the country after the tool was used to produce sexually explicit, indecent and grossly offensive material, including non-consensual manipulated images.
The regulator said the content involved women and minors, despite prior engagement and formal notices issued to X Corp and xAI.
According to the MCMC, existing safeguards on the platform were inadequate, with the companies relying largely on user reporting rather than built-in protections. Access to the AI tool will remain blocked until required changes are implemented and verified, the regulator added.
The move came a day after Indonesia became the first country to deny all access to Grok. Elsewhere, the tool’s controversial image-generation feature has been restricted to paying subscribers, a step criticised by European officials and tech campaigners who say it fails to address concerns over sexualised deepfakes.
