Indonesia temporarily blocks Grok over non-consensual deepfake obscene content

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - Indonesia on Saturday temporarily blocked artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok over its continuing to offer non-consensual deepfake obscene content.

The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry said the decision to impose the block was taken out of an "urgent need to protect women, children, and the general public from the psychological and social harms of AI-generated explicit content," according to state-run news agency Antara.

"The government views non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and citizens’ security in the digital space," said Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid in an official statement.

She described the misuse of AI to create fake explicit content as a form of "digital-based violence."

Digital platforms operating in Indonesia are required to demonstrate they have adequate safeguards to prevent the production or distribution of prohibited content.

Jakarta has formally summoned US social media company X – through which Grok is offered – for clarification.

On Friday, Grok blocked non-subscribers from generating images digitally undressing women and minors, limiting the feature to paying users after a global backlash over obscene content.

But some governments, including in Britain, said leaving the digital manipulation open to paying subscribers was no solution at all.

Indonesia earlier this month warned that X could be banned over obscene content involving minors.