{"id":8323,"date":"2026-01-12T11:11:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T11:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8323"},"modified":"2026-01-12T11:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T11:11:47","slug":"malaysia-blocks-grok-amid-uproar-over-nonconsensual-sexualised-images-technology-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8323","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia blocks Grok amid uproar over nonconsensual sexualised images | Technology News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission says ban comes after failure to comply with formal notices.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/jp-1730786685-rotated.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 12 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">12 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Malaysia has blocked access to Elon Musk\u2019s artificial intelligence model Grok amid a global uproar over the chatbot\u2019s ability to create sexually explicit images of people without their consent.<\/p>\n<p>The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said on Sunday it had temporarily banned Grok after ordering the chatbot\u2019s developer xAI and the social media platform X to introduce safeguards to ensure compliance with the law.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>In response to regulatory notices issued last week, X \u201cfocused primarily on the user-initiated reporting mechanisms and failed to address the inherent risks that arise from the design and operation of the AI tool\u201d, the MCMC said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMCMC considers this insufficient to prevent harm or ensure legal compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Malaysian watchdog\u2019s announcement came a day after Indonesia became the world\u2019s first country to formally ban the chatbot, which is offered as both a standalone platform and an in-built feature on X.<\/p>\n<p>Grok has been mired in controversy in recent days over the use of its image-generation tool to depict real people in minimal clothing and sexualised poses without their consent.<\/p>\n<p>The spread of the sexualised deepfakes, some of them including minors, has prompted condemnation and calls to action from officials in numerous countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia.<\/p>\n<p>xAI initially responded to a request for comment from Al Jazeera with an automated response saying: \u201cLegacy Media Lies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson later directed Al Jazeera to an earlier statement by X, which said the platform takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>Grok last week began limiting the use of its image-generation tool on X to paid subscribers in an apparent bid to quell the controversy.<\/p>\n<p>European officials and campaigners reacted negatively to the move, saying it did little to resolve the core problem of facilitating nonconsensual imagery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission says ban comes after failure to comply with formal notices. Published On 12 Jan 202612 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Malaysia has blocked access to Elon Musk\u2019s artificial intelligence model Grok amid a global uproar over the chatbot\u2019s ability to create sexually explicit images [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}