Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid confirmed the move over the weekend, a decision she said was aimed at “protecting women, children and the wider public from the risks posed by fake, pornographic content nonconsensually generated by AI”.

“The government views the practice of nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the security of citizens in the digital space,” Meutya said in a statement on Saturday.

The move comes amid global backlash against Grok over one of its features that allowed users on X to sexualize images of women and children in a post by replying with text prompts as simple as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes”.

The trend grew rampant over the past week, with online victims ranging from celebrities to regular users posting their pictures on the platform.

While the temporary ban managed to stop Grok’s picture requests on X and its stand-alone application, Grok’s chatroom on the platform remains accessible by Indonesian users.

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The ministry has summoned X to provide clarification regarding the “negative impacts” of Grok’s use related to this issue.

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