Indonesia has temporarily blocked access to Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI, citing concerns over the generation of pornographic and sexually explicit content. The move makes Indonesia the first country to formally restrict the AI tool at a national level.
The decision was taken on Saturday amid growing international scrutiny of Grok’s image-generation capabilities. Regulators and digital safety advocates in several regions, including Europe and Asia, have raised alarms over the chatbot’s ability to produce sexualised content, including non-consensual and harmful imagery.
Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, said the government views the creation and spread of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights and personal dignity. “This poses a threat to the security of citizens in the digital space,” she said in a statement, confirming that officials from X have been summoned for discussions on the issue.
Concerns intensified after users reported Grok being used to generate sexually explicit and violent images, prompting xAI to restrict image generation and editing features to paying subscribers earlier this week. The company said the move was part of efforts to address lapses in safeguards that had allowed inappropriate outputs, including depictions involving minors.
Responding on X, Elon Musk warned that users who employ Grok to create illegal material would face the same consequences as those who upload unlawful content directly to the platform. However, xAI’s response to media queries has drawn criticism, with one automated reply to Reuters reportedly stating: “Legacy Media Lies.”
Indonesia’s action comes against the backdrop of strict national laws governing online content. As the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia enforces robust regulations banning the distribution of material deemed obscene or morally harmful.
The block also follows xAI’s decision on Friday to disable image creation for most users, after widespread backlash over Grok’s misuse. Meanwhile, Musk and his companies are facing increasing regulatory pressure elsewhere, including warnings of potential fines, regulatory action and even the possibility of restrictions on X in the United Kingdom.
Indonesian authorities said the ban will remain in place while discussions continue and safeguards are assessed, signalling a tougher stance on emerging AI tools that fail to adequately protect users from harm.
