ASEAN Nations Block Grok Amid Rising Calls for AI Content Regulation

“We need to clean the internet now, because much toxic content is appearing, especially with the advent of AI,” Philippines Telecommunications Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said at a media briefing on the same day. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said on January 11 that its action followed “repeated misuse of Grok to generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive and non-consensual manipulated images” involving women and minors, “despite prior regulatory engagement and formal notices”. Addressing X Corp, the regulator said the company had “failed to address the inherent risks posed by the design and operation of the AI tool” and relied largely on user reporting, adding that access would remain blocked until effective safeguards were put in place.