On Sunday, January 11, 2026, Malaysia temporarily blocked access to Grok, joining a growing number of countries taking action after the AI chatbot faced global criticism for allowing users to create and share sexualized images.
xAI, the Elon Musk-led company behind Grok, announced on Thursday, January 8, 2026, that it would limit image generation and editing features to paying subscribers, addressing lapses that previously allowed users on ‘X’ to produce sexualized content of others, often without consent.
Indonesia became the first country to temporarily block the bot on Saturday, January 10, 2026.
In its Sunday statement, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said the restriction was imposed following repeated misuse of Grok “to generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors.”
MCMC noted that it had issued notices to ‘X’ and xAI this month, urging the implementation of effective technical and moderation safeguards. However, the responses primarily relied on user-initiated reporting and failed to adequately address the risks associated with the AI tools’ design and operation.
“MCMC considers this insufficient to prevent harm or ensure legal compliance,” the agency said.
According to Reuters, xAI responded to a request for comment with an automated message stating, “Legacy Media Lies,” while X did not immediately reply to inquiries.
The Malaysian authority added that access to Grok would remain restricted until robust safeguards were implemented, though it expressed willingness to engage with the companies.
As a Muslim-majority nation, Malaysia enforces strict laws on online content, including prohibitions on obscene and pornographic material.
