Indonesia blocks Musk’s Grok chatbot due to risk of pornographic content | Indonesia
Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool.
The move comes after governments, researchers and regulators from Europe to Asia condemned sexually explicit content on the app, with some opening investigations into sexually explicit content on the app.
xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image creation and editing to paid subscribers as it sought to fix flaws in its security measures that allowed sexualized output, including depictions of scantily clad children.
“The government views non-consensual sexual deepfake practices as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and security of citizens in the digital space,” Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said in a statement.
The Ministry also summoned official X to discuss the issue.
Musk said anyone who uses Grok on X to create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they had uploaded illegal content.
xAI responded to Reuters’ email seeking comment with what appeared to be an automated response: “Old Media Lies.” X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, has strict rules prohibiting the online sharing of content deemed obscene.
Indonesia’s block comes after Grok shut down its rendering functionality for the vast majority of users on Friday following widespread backlash over its use to create sexually explicit and violent images.
Musk has also been threatened with fines, regulatory action and reports of a possible ban of X in the UK.
The tool was also used to manipulate images of women to remove their clothing and put them in sexualized positions. The ability to do this has been turned off except for paying subscribers.
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has also expressed concern about the use of artificial intelligence to enable exploitative sexual content on the Grok chatbot.
The Prime Minister on Saturday joined a growing list of international leaders, including his British counterpart Keir Starmer, who have criticized the social media platform.
“The use of generative AI to exploit or sexualize people without their consent is abhorrent,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“I think it’s completely disgusting that this tool has been used to get people to use the image creation function through Grok.
“This is once again an example of social media failing to demonstrate social responsibility, and Australians and indeed global citizens deserve better.”
Although the number of reports received by the Australian eSafety Office is small, there has been a recent increase in the use of Grok to create sexualized or exploitative images.
The watchdog warned on Friday that it would use its powers, including takedown notices, if such material met thresholds defined in the Online Safety Act.
“X, Grok and a wide range of other services are also subject to systemic security obligations as part of Australia’s world-leading policy to detect and remove child sexual exploitation material and other illegal material. industry codes and standards” he said.
With Reuters and AAP
