Philippines to ban Musk’s Grok AI on Jan 15 over sexualised deepfakes
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Social media platform X has said it is taking measures to prevent its chatbot from undressing images of real people.
PHOTO: AFP
MANILA – The Philippines said on Jan 15 it plans to block Mr Elon Musk’s Grok “by tonight”, joining South-east Asian neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia in barring access to the chatbot that has drawn fire over AI-generated sexualised deepfakes.
The news came hours after social media platform X said it was taking measures
“We need to clean the internet now because much toxic content is appearing, especially with the advent of AI,” Telecommunications Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said in a news briefing.
Mr Renato Paraiso, acting executive director of the country’s cybercrime centre, said the block would take effect within the day.
“By tonight or within today, we are expecting (Grok) to be blocked in the entire Philippines,” Mr Paraiso said.
“We are expecting the telcos to immediately comply with the (National Telecommunications Commission) order, so of course we will monitor it.”
He added that X’s pledge to limit access would have no effect on the government’s plans.
“We cannot make decisions based on announcements,” Mr Paraiso said, adding they would watch to see if the platform carries through with its promises.
Indonesia on Jan 10 became the first country to block access to Grok entirely, with Malaysia following the next day
