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Indonesia Temporarily Blocks Grok as Governments Escalate Over Sexualized Deepfakes

Officials say paywall limits on the chatbot’s image tools fall short as investigations widen across the UK, EU and India.

Overview

  • Indonesia imposed a temporary ban and summoned company representatives, citing protection of women and children from non‑consensual sexual deepfakes.
  • xAI restricted image generation and editing on X to paying subscribers, though reports indicate the standalone Grok app still allows image creation.
  • UK regulator Ofcom is conducting an expedited assessment under the Online Safety Act after the prime minister warned that all options are on the table.
  • European authorities ordered document preservation related to the tool, India issued a 72‑hour compliance notice, the IWF flagged suspected CSAM, and U.S. senators urged Apple and Google to remove the apps.
  • Elon Musk accused critics of seeking censorship and said users who create illegal content will face consequences, while victims and experts called the paywall move inadequate and exploitative.