Indonesia is lifting its ban on Grok, but with some conditions
Grok is available again in Indonesia, after the country lifted its ban on the AI chatbot that generated millions of sexualized deepfakes, thousands of which included children. The country’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs issued a statement earlier today saying that X is allowed to resume service in Indonesia, but will be subject to monitoring for any future violations.
According to the Indonesian government agency, X provided a letter detailing several measures implemented to prevent the misuse of its Grok chatbot. Alexander Sabar, general director of digital space monitoring at the ministry, said in a statement that the agency would test the new measures on an ongoing basis and ban Grok again if it is found to be disseminating illegal content or violating the country’s laws regarding children.
The issue dates back to earlier this year, when Indonesia, along with Malaysia and the Philippines, banned the AI chatbot after it was found to produce fake sexually explicit images of women and children without their consent in response to user requests. Later that month, the Philippines lifted its ban on Grok, followed by Malaysia a few days later. Like Indonesia, Malaysian authorities have said they will continue to monitor Grok and have threatened to take more enforcement action if the AI chatbot repeats its past offenses. Beyond the bans, Grok is also under investigation by California’s attorney general and the United Kingdom’s media regulator over the same issue.
