Indonesia suspends Grok AI over sexualized images

Indonesia suspended Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok on Saturday due to growing concerns over AI-generated sexualized photos of people without their consent.

Elon Musk’s platform is facing global backlash after reports emerged that its image-making feature allowed users to sexualize photos of women and children using simple text prompts.

CBS News verified that Grok responded to user requests asking him to edit images of women to show them in bikinis or scantily clad, including prominent public figures such as first lady Melania Trump.

Indonesia is the first country to deny all access to the tool, which has been limited to paying subscribers elsewhere following backlash.

“In order to protect women, children and the public from the risks of fake pornographic content generated using artificial intelligence technology, the government… has temporarily blocked access to the Grok application,” Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid said in a statement. “The government considers non-consensual deepfake practices to be a serious violation of the human rights, dignity and security of citizens in the digital space.”

According to AFP journalists in Jakarta, the Grok X account was still active and responding to requests, particularly in Bahasa, Indonesia, on Saturday evening.

Musk-owned startup xAI, which developed Grok, told CBS News in a statement Saturday that “Legacy Media Lies,” without elaborating. The message appears to be an automatic response to media inquiries.

European officials and tech activists criticized the decision to limit Grok’s features to paid subscribers, saying it did not address concerns about sexually explicit deepfake content.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday he wanted “all options on the table” including a potential ban on Grok in Britain.

“It’s shameful, it’s disgusting and it must not be tolerated. X must take control of this,” Starmer said in an interview with a British radio station. “It’s illegal. We’re not going to tolerate it. I’ve asked that all options be on the table.”

A source in Starmer’s office reiterated to CBS News on Friday that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to regulating X in Britain.

In the United States, Republican Senator Ted Cruz said in an article on Disposal Actas well as the terms and conditions of X.”

“These illegal images pose a serious threat to the privacy and dignity of the victims. They should be removed and safeguards put in place,” Cruz said, adding that he was encouraged by the steps taken by X to remove the illegal images.

Musk said last week, in response to an article about explicit images, that anyone using Grok to “create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content.”