Indonesia becomes first country to block xAI’s Grok over deepfake content

Indonesia has moved to temporarily block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after its misuse in creating sexually explicit deepfake images. According to Reuters, the Southeast Asian nation is the first to restrict access to the chatbot.

The move follows reports that thousands of users had used Grok to create nude images of women and, in some cases, children. Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said the government viewed such practices as a serious digital crime.

 “The government views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space,” Hafid said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

According to Indonesia’s Antara News, the ministry said the temporary block was imposed to protect women, children and the wider public from the psychological and social harm caused by AI-generated explicit content. Hafid also categorised the use of Grok to produce sexualised images as a form of “digital-based violence.”

The Indonesian government has issued formal summons to X officials, seeking clarification on the chatbot’s current design and its negative impacts. Authorities have asked the company to outline concrete technical measures it plans to adopt to prevent future misuse and to demonstrate compliance with domestic laws.

Hafid said Grok’s future availability in Indonesia would depend on whether the platform is willing to implement strict content filters and adhere to ethical AI standards.

Musk and xAI had warned users last week against misusing the chatbot for illegal activities, saying such actions could result in legal consequences. “Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” Musk said in a post on X.

However, amid mounting criticism over the platform’s failure to curb deepfake content, Musk appeared to shift his stance. On Saturday, he reposted a message from a supporter arguing that responsibility for the deepfake images lay with users, not the platform.

 

 

 

 

The controversy has also drawn scrutiny in the United States. Three US Senators have written to Google and Apple, urging them to remove the Grok and X apps from their app stores, citing violations of policies that ban sexualised content.

“We write to ask that you enforce your app stores’ terms of service against X Corp’s X and Grok apps for their mass generation of nonconsensual sexualized images of women and children. X’s generation of these harmful and likely illegal depictions of women and children has shown complete disregard for your stores’ distribution terms,” the senators said.