SHAH ALAM: The United States-based X Corp and xAI LLC will be hauled to court soon for failure to address user safety concerns regarding the Grok artificial intelligence chatbot.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it is pursuing legal action against the companies over their failure to ensure user safety in Malaysia in relation to the use of Grok.
“Solicitors have been appointed and legal proceedings will be commenced shortly,” the agency said in a statement issued yesterday.
The moves comes after MCMC temporarily blocked Grok on Sunday over its repeated misuse in the creation and dissemination of harmful content, including “obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive and non-consensual manipulated images”.
The agency stated that such content involving women and minors is a serious concern, as it contravenes Malaysian law and undermines the entities’ stated safety commitments.
On Jan 3 and 8, notices ordering the removal of the offending content were issued to X Corp and xAI LLC, but “no remedial action” was taken.
“X Corp and xAI LLC may be held liable notwithstanding that the content was generated by users.
“They retain control over Grok’s design, deployment, moderation mechanisms and risk-mitigation measures.
“Liability cannot be disclaimed where systemic safeguards have failed,” MCMC added.
The agency also said the failure of X Corp and xAI LCC in enforcing their own policies and internal controls may have facilitated unlawful online activities in the country.
MCMC said that it remains committed to upholding Malaysian law and protecting public interest.
“All digital platforms operating in or affecting Malaysia must comply fully with applicable legal and regulatory requirements,” it added.
Meanwhile, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said MCMC had engaged with X Corp and xAI LCC over their controversial chatbot but the response given was unsatisfactory, resulting in Grok being temporarily blocked.
“We had discussions but legal action was also being considered, similar to what we had taken against the Telegram app in the past,” he told reporters during the handing over of appointment letters to members of the National Information Dissemination Centre advisory panel yesterday.
In June last year, MCMC filed the first-ever lawsuit against a social media platform licensee, Telegram Messenger Inc, including channels, “Edisi Siasat” and “Edisi Khas” for spreading content that allegedly undermined public trust and threatened national security.
In October, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered Telegram to block access and shut down the two channels.
A default judgment was obtained against the unidentified administrators of the two channels the following month.
