Indonesia has blocked access to Grok, the AI chatbot built by Elon Musk’s company XAI, after it was linked to the creation of pornographic and non-consensual deepfake images.
The suspension, announced Saturday by the country’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister, Meutya Hafid, comes amid global outrage over Grok’s image-generation tool, which reportedly allowed users to sexualize images of women and even children using simple prompts.
The government says the move is about protection especially for women and minors; and drawing a hard line against fake porn created with AI.
Indonesia is the first country to completely shut Grok down. In other regions, access to some of its features has only been limited to paying users, a move critics say doesn’t go far enough.
Officials described non-consensual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights and online safety, warning that unchecked AI tools can cause real-world harm. Regulators have also summoned representatives of X, the social media platform where Grok operates, to explain how the tool was rolled out and monitored.
Despite the ban, journalists in Jakarta reported that Grok’s official X account was still active on Saturday night, replying to users. including in Bahasa Indonesia.
xAI is yet to respond publicly.
Musk said last week that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as uploading illegal material online.
Indonesia’s decision sends a clear signal: when AI crosses the line, access can disappear-fast.
