Malaysia has lifted its ban on Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot following assurances from X Corp and parent company xAI that the platform has implemented safeguards against misuse. The ban, enacted earlier this month, was prompted by reports that Grok had been used to generate sexualized deepfake images, including of women and children.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it is satisfied with the company’s safety measures and will continue to monitor compliance. Authorities warned that any future breaches or violations of Malaysian law would be addressed firmly.
Grok’s restrictions in Malaysia and Indonesia marked the only official national bans to date, though the UK regulator Ofcom has opened a formal investigation under the Online Safety Act following the deepfake scandal. In response, X updated Grok’s image-editing policies on January 14, prohibiting edits of real people in revealing clothing, including bikinis.
During an 11-day period between December 29 and January 9, the Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated Grok generated around 3 million sexualised images, roughly 23,000 of which depicted children.
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