Serious questions are being raised over the safety safeguards of X’s AI chatbot Grok, prompting Indonesia and Malaysia to impose bans on the tool, while the United Kingdom has warned it may follow suit with similar restrictions.
According to international media reports, Indonesia and Malaysia have blocked user access to Grok amid growing concerns over the creation of sexual deepfakes.
Authorities in both countries said the AI chatbot’s safety mechanisms were ineffective, leading regulators to enforce temporary bans that will remain in place until X’s AI company, xAI, implements safeguards in line with regulatory demands.
Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, said in a statement that the government views the creation of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, personal dignity, and citizens’ safety in the digital space. She added that Indonesia enforces strict internet content censorship laws, particularly against material deemed pornographic.
The report noted that Malaysia has also recently launched investigations into the misuse of artificial intelligence tools on X. These actions form part of broader regulatory interventions and followed a notice issued by India’s Ministry of Information Technology, which directed X to take immediate action over the alleged misuse of Grok. The notice also pointed to potential violations of the country’s Information Technology Act.
Beyond Southeast Asia, scrutiny of xAI is intensifying in Europe. According to the report, the Paris prosecutor’s office has confirmed that French authorities, along with other foreign governments, have announced investigations into xAI’s technology and its compliance with online safety laws. The United Kingdom is among the countries involved, while parallel probes are also underway at the European Union level.
UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall recently said that if the Office of Communications (Ofcom) concludes that X is violating the Online Safety Act, she would support a full ban on the platform. A decision on the matter is expected within the coming days.
Responding to the threats of restrictions, X owner Elon Musk accused the British government of attempting to excessively censor the company. In a post on X, Musk claimed that authorities were seeking to suppress freedom of expression. He has previously stated, however, that users who upload illegal content on the platform should face consequences.
The controversy has been fueled by recent research findings which revealed that Grok’s image-generation features - across both desktop and app versions—were capable, despite existing safeguards, of producing sexually violent and highly explicit content. The research also found that the tool could depict celebrities in sexual scenarios and potentially generate AI-created child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The report further stated that Grok now has a clear and documented record of generating sexual deepfakes, including fulfilling user requests to digitally “undress” individuals appearing in publicly available images without their consent. These revelations have intensified global calls for stricter regulation of AI tools and greater accountability from technology companies operating in sensitive digital spaces.
