Indonesia – The Indonesian government has blocked access to Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok following mounting concerns over its role in generating inappropriate and often sexualised images online.
The move comes days after reports emerged that the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) was considering sanctions, including access restrictions, against platforms found to be non-compliant with local regulations.
Following an initial investigation, Director General of Digital Space Supervision Alexander Sabar said they found Grok lacked adequate safeguards to prevent the generation and dissemination of content using personal images. Authorities flagged this as a serious risk to personal security and individual rights, particularly in cases involving non-consensual image manipulation.
The ministry said such digital manipulation goes beyond issues of morality, citing concerns over the loss of individual control over visual identity, as well as potential psychological harm, social consequences, and reputational damage.
“The government sees nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space,” Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement, as quoted by The Associated Press.
The ministry also stressed that all Electronic System Providers operating in Indonesia are required to comply with national laws. AI service providers and users found to have produced or distributed pornographic content, or manipulated personal images without legal authorisation, may face administrative and criminal penalties under existing regulations.
Pornography has been regulated under Indonesia’s Criminal Code since the entry into force of Law Number 1 of 2023 on January 2, 2026. Under Article 172, pornography is defined as media containing obscenity or sexual exploitation that violates moral norms, while Article 407 provides for penalties ranging from six months to 10 years’ imprisonment or fines as prescribed by law.
Indonesia is among the first countries to formally ban Grok over these concerns, alongside Malaysia, which has also raised alarms over the chatbot’s ability to generate what it described as “obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive and non-consensual manipulated images”.
Indonesia temporarily blocked access to Grok on Saturday, with Malaysia following suit on Sunday.
According to The Associated Press, a request for comment sent to xAI resulted in an automated response from the company’s media support address stating, “Legacy Media Lies.” The same reply was reportedly received from another address when the outlet sought comment on the broader international backlash.
Amid the controversy, Musk said in a post on X that consequences would be imposed on individuals who generate illegal content using the platform.
Beyond Southeast Asia, Grok has drawn scrutiny from regulators in the European Union, India, France, and the United Kingdom. Britain’s media regulator has reportedly launched an investigation into whether the chatbot violated the law by allowing users to share sexualised images of children.
Over the weekend, Musk criticised the British government, calling it “fascist” and accusing it of attempting to stifle free speech.
