Indonesia Blocks Grok Over Sexualized Content as Global Pressure Mounts on xAI

Indonesia blocks Grok over non-consensual, sexualized deepfakes | TechCrunch

Indonesian officials said Saturday that they are temporarily blocking access to xAI's chatbot Grok. This is one of the most aggressive moves so far from government officials responding to a flood of sexualized, AI-generated imagery -- often depicting real women and minors, and sometimes showing assault and abuse -- posted by Grok in response to requests from users on the social network X. (X and xAI are part of the same company.) In a statement shared with the Guardian and other publications, Indonesia's communications and digital minister Meutya Hafid said, "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." The ministry has also reportedly summoned X officials to discuss the issue. Varied governmental responses over the past week include an order from India's IT ministry for xAI to take action to prevent Grok from generating obscene content, as well as an order from the European Commission for the company to retain all documents related to Grok, which could be setting the stage for an investigation. In the United Kingdom, the communications regulator Ofcom has said that it will "undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation." Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview Ofcom has his "full support to take action." And while in the United States, the Trump administration appears to be staying silent on the issue (xAI CEO Elon Musk is a major Trump donor and led the administration's controversial Department of Government Efficiency last year), Democratic senators have called on Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores. xAI initially responded by posting a seemingly first-person apology to the Grok account, acknowledging that a post "violated ethical standards and potentially US laws" around child sexual abuse material. It later restricted the AI image-generation feature to paying subscribers on X, though that restriction did not appear to affect the Grok app itself, which still allowed anyone to generate images. In response to a post wondering why the U.K. government wasn't taking action against other AI image generation tools, Musk wrote, "They want any excuse for censorship."

Elon Musk's Grok AI Blocked in Indonesia Over Sexualized Content

Indonesia blocked access to Grok after an investigation into the artificial intelligence system's generation of sexual content. The Communications and Digital Affairs Ministry is imposing a temporary ban on Grok "to protect women, children, and the entire community from the risk of fake pornographic content generated using artificial intelligence technology," according to a statement issued on Saturday. The ministry has asked platform X to immediately provide clarification regarding the matter, it said. "The government views non-consensual deepfake sexual practices as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and national security in the digital space," Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said in the statement. Indonesia's move came as Elon Musk's firm xAI, which owns Grok, decided on Friday to restrict the image-generation feature for most users on the X social media platform after the AI tool drew widespread condemnation for generating undressed images of women and children. Users now need a paid subscription to generate and edit images. Those features were initially introduced on X for free with daily limits. The standalone Grok app, which operates separately from the social network, still allows users to generate pictures without subscribing. "Sorry for the inconvenience," Grok posted on the X platform about the Indonesian block. "We are working to resolve this issue."

Indonesia temporarily blocks access to Grok over sexualised images

JAKARTA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool. The move comes after governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content on the app. xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried to fix safeguard lapses that had allowed sexualised outputs including depictions of scantily clad children. "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," Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. The ministry has also summoned X officials to discuss the matter. Musk said on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content. xAI replied to Reuters' email seeking comment with what seemed to be an automated response: "Legacy Media Lies". X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia, with the world's biggest Muslim population, has strict rules that ban the sharing online of content deemed obscene. Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Stephen Coates Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Indonesia blocks Musk's Grok chatbot due to risk of pornographic content

Move comes after governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned the AI tool and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool. The move comes after governments, researchers and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content on the app. xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried to fix safeguard lapses that had allowed sexualised outputs, including depictions of scantily clad children. "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," communications and digital minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. The ministry has also summoned X officials to discuss the matter. Musk said on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content. xAI replied to Reuters' email seeking comment with what seemed to be an automated response: "Legacy Media Lies". X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia, with the world's biggest Muslim population, has strict rules that ban the sharing online of content deemed obscene. Indonesia's block follows Grok switching off its image creation function on Friday for the vast majority of users after the widespread outcry about its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery. Musk has also been threatened with fines, regulatory action and reports of a possible ban on X in the UK. The tool has also been used to manipulate images of women to remove their clothes and put them in sexualised positions. The function to do so has been switched off except for paying subscribers. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has also expressed concern over the use of artificial intelligence on the Grok chatbot to enable exploitative sexual content. The prime minister on Saturday joined a growing list of international leaders including British counterpart Keir Starmer in criticising the social media platform. "The use of generative AI to exploit or sexualise people without their consent is abhorrent," he told reporters in Canberra. "The fact that this tool was used so that people were using its image creation function through Grok is, I think, just completely abhorrent. "It, once again, is an example of social media not showing social responsibility and Australians and indeed, global citizens deserve better." While the number of reports received by Australia's eSafety Office remains small, it says there has been a recent increase relating to the use of Grok to create sexualised or exploitative imagery. The watchdog warned on Friday it would use its powers including removal notices where such material meets the thresholds defined in the Online Safety Act. "X, Grok and a wide range of other services are also subject to systemic safety obligations to detect and remove child sexual exploitation material and other unlawful material as part of Australia's world-leading industry codes and standards," it said.

Indonesia temporarily blocks access to Elon Musk's Grok over sexualised images

Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool. The move comes after governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content on the app. xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried to fix safeguard lapses that had allowed sexualised outputs including depictions of scantily clad children. "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," Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. The ministry has also summoned X officials to discuss the matter. Musk said on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content. xAI replied to Reuters' email seeking comment with what seemed to be an automated response: "Legacy Media Lies." X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia, with the world's biggest Muslim population, has strict rules that ban the sharing online of content deemed obscene.

Indonesia suspends Grok AI over sexualized images

Indonesia suspended Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok on Saturday over growing concerns about AI-generated sexualized photos of people without their consent. Elon Musk's platform is facing global backlash after reports emerged that its image creation feature allowed users to sexualize pictures of women and children using simple text prompts. CBS News has verified that Grok fulfilled user requests asking it to edit images of women to show them in bikinis or little clothing, including prominent public figures such as first lady Melania Trump. Indonesia is the first country to deny all access to the tool, which was restricted to paying subscribers elsewhere following backlash. "In order to protect women, children, and the public from the risks of fake pornographic content generated using the artificial intelligence technology, the government... has temporarily blocked access to the Grok application," Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. "The government views non-consensual deepfake practices as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space." According to AFP journalists in Jakarta, the Grok X account was still active and replying to queries, including in Bahasa, Indonesia, on Saturday evening. Musk-owned startup xAI, which developed Grok, told CBS News in a statement on Saturday that "Legacy Media Lies," without elaborating further. The message appears to be an automatic reply to inquiries from media outlets. European officials and tech campaigners slammed the move to limit Grok's features to paying subscribers, saying it failed to address concerns about sexually explicit deepfake content. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday that he wants "all options on the table," including a potential ban for Grok in Britain. "This is disgraceful, it's disgusting and it's not to be tolerated. X has got to get a grip of this," Starmer said in an interview with a U.K. radio station. "It's unlawful. We're not going to tolerate it. I've asked for all options to be on the table." A source in Starmer's office reiterated to CBS News on Friday that "nothing is off the table" when it comes to regulating X in Britain. In the U.S., Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said in a post on X that "many of the recent AI-generated posts are unacceptable and a clear violation of my legislation -- now law -- the Take It Down Act, as well as X's terms and conditions." "These unlawful images pose a serious threat to victims' privacy and dignity. They should be taken down and guardrails should be put in place," Cruz said, adding that he was encouraged by steps taken by X to remove unlawful images. Musk said last week in response to a post about the explicit images that anyone using Grok to "make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content."

Indonesia Temporarily Blocks Access to Grok Over Sexualised Images

JAKARTA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool. The move comes after governments and regulators from ⁠Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content on the app. xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried to fix safeguard lapses that had ⁠allowed sexualised outputs including depictions of scantily clad children. "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," Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. The ministry has also summoned X officials to discuss the matter. Musk said on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content. xAI replied to Reuters' email seeking comment with what seemed to be an automated response: "Legacy Media Lies". X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia, with the world's biggest Muslim population, has strict rules that ban the sharing online of content deemed obscene. (Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Indonesia temporarily blocks access to Grok over sexualised images

xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried to fix safeguard lapses that had allowed sexualised outputs including depictions of scantily clad children. Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated ⁠pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool. The move comes after governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content on the app. xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried to fix safeguard lapses that had allowed sexualised outputs including depictions of scantily clad children. "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," Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. The ministry has also summoned X officials to discuss the matter. Musk said on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if ⁠they had uploaded ⁠illegal content. xAI replied to Reuters' email seeking comment with what seemed to be an automated response: "Legacy Media Lies". X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia, with the world's biggest Muslim population, has strict rules that ban the sharing online of content deemed obscene.