Source Reuters
JAKARTA – The Indonesian government has officially suspended access to Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, following a surge in reports of the tool being used to generate non-consensual sexualized images.
The decision, announced on Saturday by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, makes Indonesia the first country to take such direct regulatory action against the platform. The move comes as part of a broader crackdown on “digital-based violence” and the proliferation of deepfake pornography.
A Violation of Human Dignity
Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid stated that the block is a necessary step to protect citizens, particularly women and children, from the psychological and social harms of AI-generated explicit content.
“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 an official statement.
The ministry’s investigation, led by Director General Alexander Sabar, found that Grok lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent users from manipulating real photographs of Indonesian citizens into pornographic material. This trend, often referred to as “AI undressing,” has recently gone viral on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where Grok is integrated.
Potential Ban for X
While the current block specifically targets the Grok AI service, the Indonesian government has issued a formal summons to officials at X. The regulator warned that if the platform fails to implement stricter content moderation and technical measures to prevent future misuse, the entire X platform could face a total ban in the country.
Under Indonesian law, including the updated Criminal Code effective January 2026 and Ministerial Regulation No. 5/2020, the government has the authority to restrict any electronic system that fails to moderate “prohibited content” or violates national privacy and decency laws.
Global Scrutiny Intensifies
Indonesia is not alone in its concerns. The block follows a week of intense international pressure on xAI:
India: The Ministry of IT issued a stern warning to X, demanding an “Action Taken Report” regarding Grok’s generation of “obscene and vulgar” images.
France & UK: Regulators have launched official inquiries into the platform’s safety protocols.
Malaysia: Authorities have urged X to align the chatbot’s outputs with local laws regarding digital decency.
In response to the growing controversy, Elon Musk posted on X that users who use Grok to create illegal content would face the same legal consequences as those who upload it manually. xAI has also recently restricted image-generation features to paying subscribers in an attempt to curb mass abuse.
What’s Next?
The block is currently described as temporary, pending a review of the safeguards implemented by xAI. The Indonesian government is demanding a concrete technical demonstration of how Grok will prevent the exploitation of personal images before access is restored.
