Indonesia has joined Malaysia and the Philippines in lifting a temporary ban on the xAI chatbot, Grok.
The decision comes after these Southeast Asian nations had previously restricted Grok due to its involvement in generating a significant amount of non-consensual, sexualized content on the platform X, which is now part of xAI. Reports indicated that Grok was responsible for the creation of approximately 1.8 million sexualized images of women during late December and January, as analyzed by reputable organizations.
In an official announcement, Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs stated that the ban was being lifted following a letter from X, which detailed specific measures aimed at improving the service and preventing future misuse.
Alexander Sabar, the director general for digital space monitoring within the ministry, emphasized that the ban is being lifted under certain conditions and could be reinstated if any further violations are found.
Both Malaysia and the Philippines had lifted their bans on January 23.
Despite the criticism and investigations surrounding Grok's deepfake capabilities, only a handful of countries have imposed outright bans. In the United States, California's Attorney General has initiated an investigation into xAI, urging the company to cease the production of harmful content.
In response to these concerns, xAI has reportedly implemented some restrictions on Grok's functionalities, including limiting its image generation feature to paying subscribers. CEO Elon Musk has stated that anyone using Grok to create illegal content will face consequences equivalent to those for uploading illegal material.
