Malaysia demands X prove no further misuse of Grok before lifting ban

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) — Malaysia on Thursday said US social media company X must prove that misuse of Grok’s artificial intelligence tools will no longer occur before authorities consider lifting a temporary ban on the chatbot.

“If they succeed in disabling the production of materials considered online harm or harmful, the government will end the temporary ban on Grok,” Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told reporters, according to the state-run news agency.

Fahmi said the Communications Ministry had noted that X disabled several prompts that enabled the creation of inappropriate images through Grok, but said the measures taken so far were insufficient and not comprehensive.

The government wants social media platforms to be safer, particularly for children and families, and free from scams and harmful content, he said.

Kuala Lumpur imposed a temporary restriction on Grok on Sunday following reports of misuse of the chatbot to generate obscene, sexually explicit and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said the restriction will remain in place until effective protections are implemented.

Separately, the Philippines is moving to block access to Grok, according to ABS-CBN News.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said Thursday that its attached agency, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, is working with the National Privacy Commission to block materials considered online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.