X Tightens Controls On Grok, Disables Generation Of Explicit Content – Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Social media platform X has confirmed that its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok can no longer be misused to generate or edit harmful content involving pornography, sexual material or incest, following tighter regulatory controls on its image editing and video generation features.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the confirmation was conveyed to him by representatives of X for the Asia-Pacific region during a meeting that lasted about an hour at Menara Komunikasi here today.

“Users are no longer able to edit images or videos to produce obscene or inappropriate material, as had occurred previously.

“This confirmation was made by X, and those present at the meeting included myself, the Deputy Minister (Teo Nie Ching) and senior officials from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC),” he told Bernama after the meeting.

Fahmi said further clarification on the matter will be provided during the Minister’s Question Time (MQT) session in Parliament tomorrow.

He said the government welcomed the X’s decision to come to Putrajaya specifically to discuss the issue.

He also noted the platform’s commitment to closer cooperation with the Communications Ministry and MCMC under the Safe Internet Campaign, including efforts to make the platform safer for all segments of society.

“I see a strong commitment from X’s management to ensure the platform becomes safer and to work with all parties, including the Communications Ministry and MCMC,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fahmi said current MCMC data showed that takedown requests involving content on X stood at about 50 per cent as of today, which he described as a moderate figure.

“While the number is not high compared with some other platforms, it does not mean there are no issues. Hence, I see this as a positive development,” he said.

Fahmi said he has also instructed his team to establish closer cooperation channels with X to ensure a safer internet environment, particularly for children and families.

On Jan 11, MCMC imposed a temporary restriction on access to Grok for users in Malaysia following repeated misuse of the AI to generate pornographic and sexually explicit content.

Following the move, Fahmi was reported as saying that MCMC was reviewing possible legal action against X over its AI application Grok’s failure to comply with Malaysian online safety laws.

-- BERNAMA