Facing a global backlash, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is now under legal scrutiny in Malaysia, with regulators moving to hold X and xAI accountable for failing to prevent the spread of sexualized and harmful content.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has suspended access to Grok on Sunday and has now appointed solicitors to initiate legal proceedings against the platforms, though details of the case have not been disclosed.
Authorities said Grok has been misused to generate and distribute content that is obscene, sexually explicit, and non-consensual, including images involving women and minors. “This violates Malaysian law and undermines the companies’ commitments to user safety,” the MCMC said.
The regulator added that it issued removal notices to X and xAI on January 3 and 8, but no action was taken. It also criticised the companies for failing to enforce their own content policies, warning they may still be held liable even if the harmful material was created by users.
Neighboring Indonesia became the first country to block Grok entirely, while other markets have restricted its image-generation feature to paying subscribers—a measure European officials and tech advocates say does not fully address the risks of sexualized deepfakes.
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