The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs recently announced the conditional lifting of the ban on the AI chatbot Grok, developed by xAI. This decision follows similar actions taken by Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines, which had previously imposed bans due to the tool being used to generate a large volume of non-consensual images. According to analyses by institutions including The New York Times, Grok produced at least 1.8 million such images between late last year and early this year.
(Grok image)
The lifting of the ban is based on a written commitment submitted by X, the parent company of xAI, outlining specific steps to improve its services and prevent misuse. The Indonesian side emphasized that this is a “conditional” decision and that the ban will be reinstated immediately if new violations are discovered in the future.
Globally, the deepfake issues triggered by Grok have led to investigations and criticism from governments in multiple countries, though comprehensive bans remain rare. In response, xAI has implemented restrictions, such as limiting the AI image generation feature to paying subscribers on the X platform. The company’s CEO, Elon Musk, has also publicly stated that those who use Grok to create illegal content will be held accountable.
Malaysia and the Philippines had already lifted their bans on Grok on January 23.
Roger Luo said:This series of conditional unbanning actions in Southeast Asia effectiveness hinges entirely on xAI’s promised technical safeguards and enforcement transparency, setting a precarious precedent for AI governance based on corporate pledges rather than robust legal frameworks.
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