Indonesia suspended Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok on Saturday due to growing concerns about AI-generated pornographic images of people without their consent.
Elon Musk’s platform is facing global controversy after reports emerged that its photo creation feature allowed users to sexualize images of women and children using simple text commands.
CBS News confirmed that Grok has fielded user requests asking it to edit photos of women to show them in bikinis or skimpy clothing, including public figures such as first lady Melania Trump.
Indonesia is the first country to deny all access to this tool, which is restricted only to paying subscribers elsewhere following the backlash.
“To protect women, children, and the public from the dangers of fake pornographic content produced using artificial intelligence technology, the government… has temporarily blocked access to the Grok application,” Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. “The government considers deeply inconsistent practices as serious violations of human rights, dignity, and safety of citizens in the digital environment.”
According to AFP reporters in Jakarta, the Grok X account was still active and responding to inquiries, including in Bahasa, Indonesia, on Saturday evening.
Musk-owned xAI, which developed Grok, told CBS News in a statement Saturday that it “Lies Legacy Media,” without elaborating. The message appears to be an automatic response to questions from media outlets.
European officials and technology campaigners have criticized the move to limit Grok’s features to paying subscribers, saying it failed to address concerns about confidential sexually graphic content.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday he wanted to “all options are on the table,” including the possible ban of Grok in Britain.
“This is disgraceful, disgusting and should not be tolerated. UX should be involved in this,” Starmer said in an interview with a UK radio station. “It is not allowed. We will not tolerate it. I have asked all options to be on the table.”
A source in Starmer’s office also told CBS News on Friday that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to controlling X in Britain.
In the US, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said in an X post that “a lot of recent AI is unacceptable and clearly violates my law – now the law – Reduce Actionand X’s terms and conditions.”
“These illegal images pose a serious threat to the privacy and dignity of the victims. They should be taken down and put on the street,” Cruz said, adding that he was encouraged by the steps taken by X to remove the illegal images.
Musk said last week in response to a post about clear images that anyone using Grok “to create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they were uploading illegal content.”
