Grok to resume operations in Indonesia, conditionally

Indonesia has granted Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok a conditional approval to resume operations in the country and under strict supervision, weeks after banning it for explicit sexual content, The Associated Press has reported.

X Corp provided a written commitment to service improvements and compliance with applicable laws, according to a statement from the communications ministry on Sunday.

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

Indonesia and Malaysia were the first two countries to block access to Grok in January over concerns it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.

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

The normalization of Grok’s operations in Indonesia is 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 breaches 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.