Indonesia has lifted its ban on xAI’s chatbot Grok, following similar moves by Malaysia and the Philippines.

The three Southeast Asian countries imposed restrictions after Grok was used to generate large volumes of nonconsensual, sexualized imagery on X, which is a subsidiary of xAI. The images included depictions of real women and minors. Separate analyses by The New York Times and the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that Grok was used to create at least 1.8 million sexualized images of women in late December and January.

Government Conditions and Oversight

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said in a statement that it lifted the ban after X sent a letter outlining specific steps aimed at improving its services and preventing misuse.

Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s director general of digital space monitoring, said the decision was conditional and that the ban could be reinstated if further violations are discovered.

Malaysia and the Philippines lifted their bans on January 23.

International Response and Investigations

Grok’s use in creating deepfake images has drawn criticism and investigations from governments in multiple countries, although only a small number have imposed full bans.

In the United States, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office is investigating xAI and has issued a cease-and-desist letter directing the company to take immediate steps to halt the production of such images.

xAI Actions and Executive Statements

xAI has taken steps to restrict Grok’s capabilities, including limiting its AI image generation feature to paying subscribers on X.

Chief Executive Elon Musk said that users who generate illegal content with Grok would face the same consequences as those who upload illegal material. He also said he is not aware of any nude images of underage individuals generated by the chatbot.