Adedokun Waliyu 
Malaysia has restored access to Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot after suspending the AI tool nearly two weeks ago over concerns about the generation of sexualised deepfake images. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced on Friday that the temporary restriction on Grok’s use on the X platform had been lifted with immediate effect.
The service had been suspended on January 11, when the MCMC also appointed solicitors to begin legal proceedings against X and xAI, though details of the action were not disclosed at the time. According to the regulator, access was restored following confirmation that additional preventive and security measures had been implemented by the platform, although it did not specify the exact steps taken.
The decision followed a meeting on Wednesday between Malaysian officials and representatives of X, during which the company provided clarification and commitments regarding its preventive measures and compliance with Malaysian law. The MCMC said X had confirmed that the required safeguards were now in place and noted that compliance would continue to be monitored by authorities.
Malaysia had earlier warned of legal action if X and xAI failed to address the issue after researchers revealed that Grok had generated an estimated three million sexualised images of women and children within days, triggering global outrage. In response to the backlash, X announced last week that it would restrict, through geoblocking, the ability of Grok and X users to generate images of people in bikinis, underwear, or similar attire in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.
The lifting of the suspension marks a temporary resolution to the standoff, as regulators continue to scrutinise the platform’s safeguards against the misuse of generative artificial intelligence.
