Indonesian officials have temporarily blocked access to xAI’s chatbot Grok

Indonesian officials have temporarily blocked access to xAI’s chatbot Grok, citing serious concerns over the generation and spread of sexualised AI images, including content involving minors.

Indonesian officials on Saturday announced a temporary restriction on access to Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, following growing concerns over harmful and explicit AI-generated content circulating on the social media platform X.

The move marks one of the strongest government responses so far to allegations that Grok has been producing sexualised images often involving real women and, in some cases, minors based on user prompts. X and xAI operate under the same corporate umbrella.

In a statement shared with The Guardian and other international media, Indonesia’s Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, said the government views non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a grave threat.

“The government views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space,” Hafid stated.

The ministry has also reportedly summoned representatives of X to explain the platform’s safeguards and moderation practices surrounding Grok’s image-generation capabilities.

Indonesia’s action comes amid escalating scrutiny of Grok by regulators worldwide.

In India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has ordered xAI to take immediate steps to prevent the chatbot from generating obscene and unlawful content.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has instructed xAI to preserve all internal documents related to Grok, a move widely seen as preparatory groundwork for a formal investigation under EU digital laws.

In the United Kingdom, communications regulator Ofcom said it would conduct a “swift assessment” to determine whether Grok breaches existing online safety regulations. Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that Ofcom has his full backing to take enforcement action if necessary.

In contrast, the United States government has remained publicly silent on the controversy. This has drawn criticism, particularly given xAI CEO Elon Musk’s political ties. 

Indonesian officials have temporarily blocked access to xAI’s chatbot Grok

Musk is a major donor to former President Donald Trump and previously led the administration’s contentious Department of Government Efficiency.

However, several Democratic senators have urged Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores until stronger safeguards are implemented.

xAI initially issued a first-person apology via the Grok account, admitting that certain generated images “violated ethical standards and potentially US laws” relating to child sexual abuse material.

The company later restricted Grok’s image-generation feature to paying subscribers on X. Despite this, reports indicate that the standalone Grok app continued to allow unrestricted image generation, raising questions about the effectiveness of the measures.

Responding to criticism over regulatory actions, Musk dismissed government intervention as overreach. Addressing a post questioning the UK’s focus on Grok over other AI tools, he wrote: “They want any excuse for censorship.”

As governments worldwide grapple with the rapid spread of generative AI, Indonesia’s decision highlights growing concerns over digital safety, consent, and accountability in AI deployment.

With Grok now facing restrictions and investigations across multiple jurisdictions, the episode underscores the increasing regulatory pressure on AI platforms operating without robust content safeguards.