In an official statement, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has announced that it has lifted its temporary ban on X’s AI chatbot, Grok. This is after X representatives confirmed the implementation of additional preventative and security measures on the social media platform.
If, by any chance, you aren’t aware, X came under fire recently after its platform users decided to use Grok’s image-generating capabilities to produce sexually explicit images of women and children. Afterwards, the commission blocked access to the chatbot, citing the misuse of AI as a means of generating “obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors”.
As per the official statement, MCMC confirmed that it had a meeting with X representatives on 21 January, 2026. The document details that the main goal of this meeting was to obtain clarification and commitment from the X platform regarding the preventative measures and compliance with Malaysian laws. After an hour of discussion, Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil told Bernama that “users are no longer able to edit images or videos to produce obscene or inappropriate material, as had occurred previously”.
Before concluding the document, however, the commission stressed that authorities will closely monitor the Grok app and that user safety remains a “priority”. Moreover, MCMC added that “Any failure to comply or violation of Malaysian laws will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the provisions of the law in force”.
Prior to lifting the ban, the commission considered taking legal action against X. Notably, aside from Indonesia, the Philippines also banned Grok. However, following internal discussions, the governing bodies in the Philippines have since lifted the ban.
(Source: X)
