The Indonesian government has suspended access to Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company, xAI, over concerns that the tool can be used to generate pornographic and sexually explicit content.
The suspension was announced on Saturday by the Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, who said the decision was taken to protect women, children and the general public from the dangers of AI-generated fake pornography.
According to the minister, the government considers the creation and circulation of non-consensual deepfake content a serious violation of human rights, personal dignity and digital security. She described the temporary ban as a preventive step while authorities assess the platform’s compliance with national laws and digital safety standards.
Grok has recently come under intense criticism globally after reports showed that its image-generation feature could be used to sexualise images of women and even children through simple text instructions. Following the backlash, access to some of its features was limited to paying subscribers in several countries.
Indonesia has become the first country to fully block access to the chatbot.
The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has also summoned representatives of social media platform X, where Grok is integrated, to provide clarification on the matter and explain the safeguards in place to prevent misuse.
Despite the suspension, Grok’s account on X was still active on Saturday evening and continued to respond to users, including those communicating in Bahasa Indonesia.
xAI, the company behind Grok, had not issued an official response at the time of reporting.
The chatbot has also faced other controversies in recent months, including the removal of posts after it generated content that praised Adolf Hitler.
Reacting to concerns over explicit AI-generated images, Elon Musk had earlier warned that users who create illegal content with Grok would face the same consequences as those who upload such material directly.
European regulators and digital rights advocates have criticised recent restrictions that limit Grok’s image tools to paid users, arguing that the move does not adequately address the wider risks posed by sexually explicit deepfake content.
Indonesia Blocks Elon Musk’s Grok AI Over Pornographic Content Concerns
