Indonesia lifts ban on Elon Musk’s Grok AI after content assurances from X

Soon after Malaysia and the Philippines allowed Grok chatbots in their countries, Indonesia also allowed Elon Musk's Grok chatbot to resume services, lifting a ban over sexualized images on the app, after X Corp committed to improving compliance with the country's laws, according to a government statement.

Indonesia suspended Grok from operating in the Southeast Asian nation three weeks ago, citing the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool.

As reported by Reuters, the statement from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs on Sunday said the government was processing the resumption of access on "a conditional basis and under strict supervision."

Governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned sexualized content generated by Grok, and some have opened inquiries.

"The normalization of access to Grok services is being carried out conditionally after X Corporation submitted a written commitment containing concrete steps for service improvement and prevention of abuse. This commitment is the basis for evaluation, not the end of the supervision process," senior ministry official Alexander Sabar said in the statement.

He added that X had implemented a number of "layered" measures to address the misuse of Grok services and that these would be continuously verified.

Tech experts assume more countries will soon lift the ban on Grok after the platform ensures it will regulate safety measures regarding sensitive or explicit content.