KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia has temporarily blocked access to Grok, an AI chatbot developed by xAI, citing concerns over the generation and dissemination of obscene and sexually explicit content, the country's communications and multimedia regulator said on Sunday.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said in a statement that the move follows notices issued by the commission to X Corp and xAI LLC on Jan. 3 and Jan. 8, demanding, among other things, the implementation of technical protection measures.
"This action follows repeated misuse of Grok to generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors, despite prior regulatory engagement and formal notices," it said.
"This temporary ban is imposed as a reasonable precautionary measure while the legislative and regulatory process is still ongoing. The restriction on access to Grok will remain in place until effective safeguards are implemented, in particular to prevent content involving women and children," it said, adding that the public is encouraged to report such content. ■