DICT’s Aguda to block Elon Musk’s Grok over explicit deepfakes despite X’s move to restrict sexualized images

By TechWatch PH Staff

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is moving to block access to Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok in the Philippines amid concerns about its use in generating sexually explicit and non-consensual deepfake content. 

This is despite the announcement made by xAI on new restrictions intended to limit Grok’s ability to create or edit sexualized images of real people in response to global criticism.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda raised the concern during a Palace press briefing on January 15.

“So, the CICC [Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center] is now working together with the NPC [National Privacy Commission] to block it,” Aguda said.

xAI earlier said the restrictions were imposed in response to a global backlash over Grok’s role in generating explicit imagery involving real individuals.

The announcement came just hours after billionaire Elon Musk said he was not aware of any “naked underage images” created using Grok.

In a post on X, the company said the changes add “an extra layer of protection” to ensure that users who attempt to abuse Grok to violate the law or platform policies can be identified and held accountable. It reiterated a “zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content.”

X said it has implemented technological measures to prevent Grok from editing images of real people into “revealing clothing such as bikinis” and that the restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers, but did not clarify whether similar limitations would apply to the standalone Grok app.

Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI and integrated into the social media platform X, has drawn international criticism after users exploited its tools to generate explicit deepfake images of real individuals—including women and minors—without consent.

Aguda said the sexually explicit images produced by Grok could fall under online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC), although he noted that the chatbot’s digital footprint in the Philippines remains relatively limited.

“We no longer need to ask permission from X or notify them because, based on the content itself, it should be blocked,” Aguda said. 

He added that blocking access is not a one-click process, explaining that coordinated action by all internet service providers is required for the restriction to take effect.

Scrutiny of the chatbot has intensified worldwide, with reports of users digitally undressing women and children without consent and circulating the images on X.  Numerous of such sexualized AI-generated images have surfaced on the platform in recent weeks. 

Meanwhile, international regulators have also begun cracking down on harmful deepfake content. Indonesia and Malaysia have already restricted or blocked Grok, citing concerns that non-consensual deepfakes violate human rights and digital safety standards.

In the United Kingdom, authorities are investigating the platform under existing online safety laws, alongside proposals to criminalize the creation of harmful deepfake material. 

In the U.S., California Attorney General Rob Bonta has opened an investigation into xAI, while U.S. lawmakers have moved ahead with bipartisan legislation targeting nonconsensual AI-generated intimate images.

READ:

X to open-source its new recommendation algorithm, says Elon Musk