Malaysia’s communications regulator said it will take legal action against Elon Musk’s social media platform X and its AI unit xAI, alleging failures to protect users after the generative AI tool Grok was used to create and distribute sexually explicit and manipulated images.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), acting with the Ministry of Communications, said it identified harmful content — including sexually explicit, indecent and non-consensual deepfake imagery — that it believes violates Malaysian law. The regulator said it had issued notices to X and xAI earlier this month to remove the flagged content, but the firms did not act.
The controversy follows Malaysia’s recent ban on access to Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI and integrated with X, after concerns over its image generation feature’s misuse. Indonesia also blocked Grok amid similar objections.
Authorities have pointed to cases in which Grok was allegedly used to generate offensive and sexually suggestive imagery of adults and minors, which they say contravenes local legal standards on obscene and harmful content.
The legal move underscores a broader global backlash against AI-generated deepfake content. Regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union have opened investigations or proposed tightenings of online safety frameworks in response to concerns about non-consensual AI imagery, while several governments have blocked or restricted access to Grok pending improvements to safety measures.
In response to mounting criticism, X has limited Grok’s image generation features to paid subscribers, but critics argue this step does not sufficiently address the potential misuse of the technology.
Malaysia’s legal proceedings could signal a new phase in how governments hold tech companies accountable for generative AI harms, particularly as regulators across Asia, Europe and North America grapple with rapidly evolving AI capabilities. xAI and X have not issued detailed public responses beyond automated messages to media inquiries.
