Philippines blocks Grok AI over child safety and deepfake concerns
The Philippine government ordered the blocking of xAI's Grok AI chatbot nationwide within 24 hours on January 16, 2026, citing concerns that the tool could be used to generate sexually explicit content and deepfakes without consent, particularly harming women and minors. Philippines became the third country to ban Grok after Malaysia and Indonesia, with regulatory officials invoking the Cybercrime Prevention Act to justify the action.
What happened
The Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) ordered the blocking and takedown of access to the AI tool Grok on January 16, 2026, citing risks to public safety, particularly to women and minors.
DICT secretary Henry Aguda submitted a formal request to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), invoking Republic Act 10175 (the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012), and requested that the NTC block and take down access to Grok nationwide within 24 hours.
The action aimed to prevent alleged abuse of the AI tool, which authorities said can be used to manipulate content, generate sexually explicit materials, and create deepfakes of real individuals without consent.
Reported impact
Authorities expressed particular concern that minors could access Grok to create pornographic content, including child pornography, stating that the tool's availability to everyone posed risks that other countries had already identified and acted upon.
xAI subsequently reached out to DICT to propose corrective measures, including restrictions on image editing that limit access to paying subscribers, with DICT indicating openness to lifting the prohibition if adequate protections for women and children were implemented.
Index analysis
The Philippines became the third country to block Grok, following Malaysia and Indonesia, which took similar action over misuse and sexually explicit generated content concerns.
Under the Cybercrime Prevention Act, individuals convicted of cybersex offenses face imprisonment of six to twelve years and fines of ₱200,000 to ₱1 million, while those convicted of child pornography offenses may face 12 years to life imprisonment with fines ranging from ₱500,000 to over ₱5,000,000.
Governance controls
DICT secretary Aguda stated that the government acted swiftly on a directive from the President to take preventive action when potential public harm was identified.
The NTC, in coordination with the CICC, ordered all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to immediately block Grok in the Philippines.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.