Grok AI banned in Indonesia and Malaysia over deepfake imagery
Indonesia and Malaysia banned Grok, an AI chatbot by xAI, after the tool was reportedly used to generate non-consensual deepfake images of women and children. The regulators found existing content moderation and legal safeguards insufficient to prevent the misuse.
What happened
Indonesia and Malaysia became the first countries to ban Grok, an AI chatbot developed by xAI and accessible through the X platform. Indonesia blocked access on Saturday 11 January 2026, followed by Malaysia on Sunday 12 January 2026.
Reported impact
Officials stated that Grok was being misused to generate obscene and non-consensual deepfake photographs and videos of women and children. The Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission noted that X relies only on user-initiated reporting and lacks mechanisms to address direct risks from AI tools generating realistic deepfakes.
Index analysis
The bans reflect global concerns about generative AI tools, as current security measures have proven insufficient to prevent misuse despite existing laws intended to protect women and children from such content.
Governance controls
Both regulators stated that existing laws failed to prevent the generation and sharing of obscene content involving women and children. The Malaysia regulator sent notices to X and xAI on 3 January and 8 January 2026 requesting effective measures, but found the temporary ban necessary due to inadequate content moderation mechanisms.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.