Indonesia lets Elon Musk’s Grok back online under tight supervision

Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, July 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia allowed Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok to resume operations in the country on a conditional basis and under strict supervision, weeks after banning it for explicit sexual content.

Musk’s social platform X Corp made a written commitment to service improvements and compliance with applicable laws, the communications ministry said in a statement Sunday.

The company told the ministry it had taken steps to address the misuse of Grok services, including restricting access to certain features, according to the statement.

Indonesia and Malaysia were the first two countries that blocked access to Grok in January over concerns it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images.

Malaysian authorities lifted the temporary restriction after the company took security and preventive measures. Malaysian regulators said they met last week with X’s representatives and would continue to monitor the situation.

The normalization of Grok’s operations in Indonesia was not unconditional, said Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s director general of digital space supervision. He added that the steps X claims to have taken will be verified and tested by Indonesian authorities to ensure they prevent violations, including the distribution of illegal content and violations of child protection principles.

“If inconsistencies or further violations are found in its implementation, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs will not hesitate to take corrective action, including suspending access to services again,” Sabar said.

Edna Tarigan, The Associated Press