Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok over its misuse to generate explicit images.

Malaysia on Sunday temporarily blocked access to Grok, joining a growing list of countries taking action after the generative artificial intelligence chatbot sparked a global backlash by allowing users to create and publish sexualised images.

As sexualized images flooding X spark a global conversation, Newsweek spoke to legal experts about the potential legal implications.

The launch of an AI image editing feature on xAI’s Grok has caused chaos on X after it was used to generate a flood of non-consensual sexualized deepfakes. As Hayden Field wrote, “screenshots show Grok complying with requests to put real women in lingerie and make them spread their legs, and to put small children in bikinis.”

In response to slow movement from X's teams, countries have begun tamping down access to xAI's bot and standalone app, as several conduct investigations into Grok's safeguards, xAI's response, and the possibility that the company is violating various online safety laws.

Illinois lawmakers are considering ways to regulate AI technology after X's AI Grok was used to manipulate images of real women and children without their consent.

The UK will bring into force a law which will make it illegal to create non-consensual intimate images, following widespread concerns over Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the government would also seek to make it illegal for companies to supply the tools designed to create such images.