Indonesia suspends Elon Musk’s Grok AI over pornographic content

Indonesia has suspended access to Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok over concerns related to AI-generated pornographic content, the country’s communication and digital affairs minister said on Saturday.

The decision follows a global backlash after it emerged that Grok’s image creation feature allowed users to sexualise images of women and children using simple text prompts.

Indonesia is the first country to deny all access to the tool, which has been restricted to paying subscribers in other regions following the controversy.

“In order to protect women, children, and the public from the risks of fake pornographic content generated using artificial intelligence technology, the government has temporarily blocked access to the Grok application,” Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. She added that the government views non-consensual deepfake practices as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space.

The ministry has also summoned representatives of the social media platform X to seek clarification on the matter.

The Grok account on X was still active and responding to user queries, including in Bahasa Indonesia, on Saturday evening.

Musk-owned startup xAI, which developed Grok, has not responded to the ban.

European officials and technology campaigners have criticised the move to limit Grok’s features to paying subscribers, saying it does not adequately address concerns around sexually explicit deepfake content.

Musk said last week that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face consequences similar to uploading illegal material.