Malaysia temporarily blocks Grok AI over capacity to produce sexualised images

Malaysia has temporarily blocked access to Elon Musk’s Grok AI, saying it will restrict the tool until effective safeguards are implemented. The move came a day after Indonesia took similar action amid a wider global outcry. Governments and regulators have acted over Grok’s image tool, which is embedded in the X social media site and has been criticised for allowing users to manipulate images of women and children to remove clothing and place them in sexual positions.

xAI, the company behind Grok, said last week that image generation and editing would be limited to paying subscribers, who have provided personal details and can be identified if the function is misused. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it would restrict access because Grok can “generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and nonconsensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors”.

It said it had issued notices to X and xAI demanding effective technical and moderation safeguards, and judged the responses it received—mostly relying on user-initiated reporting—as insufficient to prevent harm or ensure legal compliance. It is unclear whether the Malaysian and Indonesian restrictions apply to Grok on X, or to the separate Grok website and app.

The Guardian received reports from Indonesia that people could still use Grok via the app and via X, although one report said the app was very slow.

Key Topics

Tech, Grok, Xai, X, Malaysia, Indonesia