PH considering to block Grok over inappropriate AI-generated images
The Philippine government is seeking to block Elon Musk's Grok, a generative AI chatbot that recently got in hot water over removing clothing from women and children in pictures.
In a press briefing on Jan. 15, Department of Information and Communications Technology Sec. Henry Aguda touched on the dangers of deepfake content online.
"Malaking problema po ang deepfake, lalo na sa pag-gamit ng AI sa ibang bansa. Kung nakita niyo 'yung nangyari kay Grok, na galing sa US, pinagbawal across Europe. Kasi nagkakaroon na ng deepfake na mga batang ginamit," he said.
Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked Grok over the explicit deepfakes. Meanwhile, the government officials have threatened action in Europe and the UK, and California's governor and attorney general have demanded answers from xAI on its plan to stop the creation and spread of the malicious content.
"CICC is working na together with NTC to do the blocking of that one (Grok). 'Yan, OSAEC (Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children) na 'yan eh, so 'yan, talaga immediate," Aguda said.
He added that the Grok user base in the Philippines is smaller. "Ang talagang sikat dito ChatGPT atsaka Claude. This week, sigurado, ma-re-resolve na 'yan."
Aguda further noted that the country is seeking to block Grok.
"Oo naman. If not, malamang, they're working on it na agad. Kasi hindi na nga tayo kailangan humingi ng permission sa X or tumimbre sa kanila kasi because of the content, dapat blocked."
Muxk's xAI said on Wednesday that it imposed restrictions on all users of its Grok AI chatbot that limit image editing.
"We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers," it wrote.
Meanwhile, Musk initially publicly laughed off the controversy, posting humorous emojis to other users' comments about the influx of sexualized photos. More recently, X said it treats reports of child sexual abuse material seriously and polices it vigorously.
The X owner also said he was "not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero."
The complaints of abuses began on X after an "edit image" button was rolled out on Grok in late December.
The button allows users to modify any image on the platform—with some users deciding to partially or completely undress women or children in pictures, according to complaints. (with reports from Reuters)