Malaysia Takes Legal Aim at Elon Musk's X Over AI Misuse

Malaysia's communications regulator plans legal action against social media platform X over user safety concerns related to Grok, a generative AI chatbot. The chatbot has faced global controversy for producing sexualized content. Both Malaysia and Indonesia temporarily blocked Grok, and regulatory bodies in other countries are investigating.

In a significant move, Malaysia's communications regulator announced on Tuesday its decision to pursue legal action against the social media platform X. The decision arises from concerns surrounding user safety linked to Grok, a feature utilizing artificial intelligence. This generative AI chatbot has been at the center of a global controversy for allowing the creation and dissemination of sexualized images.

The backlash against Grok has been immediate and widespread. Over the weekend, Malaysia and Indonesia imposed temporary blocks on the chatbot. Meanwhile, Britain's media watchdog has initiated an investigation into Musk's X, and French authorities have escalated the matter to prosecutors and regulators. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has expressed concern about Grok's misuse, citing the generation and circulation of harmful content such as obscene, sexually explicit, and manipulated non-consensual images.

The situation is further compounded by allegedly illicit content involving women and minors, which the Malaysian commission condemns as a grave violation of national laws and safety commitments. Despite serving notices to both X and xAI, the entities haven’t acted on the requests to remove offensive content. As a nation with stringent laws on online material, Malaysia forbids obscene and pornographic content, including online gambling and other harmful content.