JAKARTA: The Communications and Digital Ministry has temporarily blocked access to X’s chatbot Grok over concerns about artificial intelligence-generated pornographic content, amid the government’s attempt to bolster child protection in the digital space through a new regulation.
Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid confirmed the move over the weekend, a decision she said was aimed at “protecting women, children and the wider public from the risks posed by fake, pornographic content nonconsensually generated by AI”.
“The government views the practice of nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the security of citizens in the digital space,” Meutya said in a statement on Saturday.
The move comes amid global backlash against Grok over one of its features that allowed users on X to sexualise images of women and children in a post by replying with text prompts as simple as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes”.
The trend grew rampant over the past week, with online victims ranging from celebrities to regular users posting their pictures on the platform. While the temporary ban managed to stop Grok’s picture requests on X and its stand-alone application, Grok’s chatroom on the platform remains accessible by Indonesian users.
The ministry has summoned X to provide clarification regarding the “negative impacts” of Grok’s use related to this issue.
As of Sunday evening, no official statement has been issued from X or its executive chairman Elon Musk addressing Indonesia's temporary block on Grok.
Following the backlash, Grok’s controversial feature was limited to paying subscribers only last Thursday, which prompted further criticism over its inadequate solution.
The temporary ban coincides with the government’s broader effort to strengthen child protection in the digital ecosystem through new regulatory measures, following similar moves by other countries, including neighbouring Australia late last year.
The communications ministry is currently opening a public consultation on a draft ministerial regulation that will serve as the implementing rule for government regulation (PP) No. 17/2025 on electronic systems providers (ESPs) governance for child protection, widely known as PP TUNAS.
The draft ministerial regulation outlines several key provisions, including minimum age requirements for users accessing digital products, mandatory risk assessments by ESPs and sanctions for platforms found to be violating the rule.
One of the articles in the draft stipulates that ESPs must clearly disclose minimum age limits for children using their platforms, with age categories ranging from three years old and under to under 18 years old.
They must also apply child-protection designs on their platforms to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content. The ministry’s public consultation is open until Jan 16. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
