Indonesia Blocks Access to Elon Musks AI Chatbot Over Deepfakes Concerns

Indonesia Blocks Elon Musk’s Grok Chatbot Over Deepfake Concerns

The Indonesian government has temporarily blocked access to Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot application due to concerns over the risk of fake, AI-generated pornographic content. The country’s communication and digital affairs minister, Meutya Hafid, stated that “the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes” is a violation of human rights, dignity, and security in the digital space.

The move comes after Grok limited image generation and editing features on Musk’s social media platform X to paying subscribers. This decision was made in response to mounting criticism over the deepfakes feature, which allowed users to alter online images to remove subjects’ clothes. Several countries have publicly expressed concerns about Grok, with European officials and tech campaigners criticizing the move as insufficient.

Musk has stated that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as uploading such material directly. However, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office described the measure as “insulting” to victims of misogyny and sexual violence, arguing that it did not address their concerns. The Indonesian government has summoned X officials to discuss the matter.

The country has strict rules in place that ban the sharing online of content deemed obscene. Indonesia is home to 285 million people and has taken steps to protect its citizens from potential harm.

Source: Al Jazeera