Temporary Ban On Grok Effective Today - MCMC

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has ordered a temporary ban on access to Grok artificial intelligence (AI) for users in Malaysia, effective today (Jan 11).

MCMC, in a statement today, said the action was taken following repeated abuse of Grok to generate pornographic and sexually explicit content.

"It also follows the extremely obscene and sexually explicit content and images of non-consensual manipulation, including content involving women and children, despite regulatory action having been issued to X Corp. and xAI LLC," it said.

According to MCMC, it had issued notices to X Corp. and xAI LLC last Jan 3 and Jan 8, demanding, among other things, the implementation of technical protection measures.

The demands also include effective content supervisors to prevent AI-generated content that may violate Malaysian laws, including Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

“However, the response submitted by X Corp. on Jan 7 and Jan 9 focused primarily on the user-initiated reporting mechanism and failed to address the inherent risks that arise from the design and operation of the AI ​​tool,” said the commission.

Based on the response by X Corp, MCMC said it found that the action was insufficient to prevent harm and ensure compliance with the law.

“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,” the statement said.

MCMC remains open to engaging with X Corp. and xAI LLC, subject to demonstrable compliance with Malaysian laws.

“The public is urged to report harmful online content to MCMC immediately and, if necessary, file a report with the Royal Malaysia Police,” the statement said.

-- BERNAMA