• Malaysia suspends access to Grok AI due to concerns over sexually explicit content.
• Indonesia is the first country to deny access to the AI tool altogether.
• The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission cites inadequate safeguards from X Corp for the suspension.
• Grok's ability to produce manipulated images has raised significant global backlash.
• Elon Musk's AI tool faces scrutiny across Southeast Asia and Europe for generating harmful content.

Malaysia has suspended access to Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok amid rising global concerns about its capability to generate sexually explicit content. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) stated that the decision was prompted by repeated misuse of the AI tool to create obscene, non-consensual, and grossly offensive images involving women and minors, despite previous communications with X Corp regarding these risks, according to SCMP and Channel News Asia.

On the same day, Indonesia became the first country globally to completely block Grok, highlighting regional concerns over the AI tool's implications on public safety and online content regulation. Both countries emphasized that the AI's safeguards are inadequate to protect against the generation of harmful content, requiring a thorough review and better policy implementation from X Corp, according to BBC and Reuters.

The MCMC has called for a halt on Grok’s services until effective measures to prevent such misuse are established, expressing dissatisfaction with X's reliance on user-based reporting mechanisms to address the AI tool's risks. The move comes as part of a broader trend seen in various jurisdictions, where governments are responding to the rapid technological advancements in AI with increased scrutiny due to potential human rights concerns, according to India Times and Channel News Asia.