Malaysia’s communications regulator said it will take legal action against Elon Musk’s social media platform X and AI startup xAI (X.AI) due to concerns over user safety, just days after it restricted access to AI service Grok over deepfake images.
“MCMC has identified the misuse of Grok to generate and disseminate harmful content. This includes obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images,” said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, or MCMC, in a press release on Tuesday.
MCMC, in coordination with the Ministry of Communications, isPursuing legal action against X Corp. (formerly Twitter) and xAI LLC, the regulator noted.
“Notices were issued to X Corp. and xAI LLC on 3 and 8 January 2026 requiring the removal of the offending content. No remedial action has been taken,” the regulator added.
On Jan. 11, the MCMC had directed a temporary restriction on access to Grok for users in Malaysia. The Southeast Asian country joined its neighbor Indonesia in imposing a temporary ban on Grok.
MCMC said on Tuesday that X and xAI may be held liable notwithstanding that the content was generated by users. The regulator noted that the companies retain control over Grok’s design, deployment, moderation mechanisms, and risk-mitigation measures, adding that liability cannot be disclaimed where systemic safeguards have failed.
“MCMC notes the failure of X Corp. and xAI LLC to enforce their own policies and internal controls. This failure may have facilitated unlawful online activities within Malaysia,” said the regulator.
Musk’s xAI said “Legacy Media Lies,” in an email to Seeking Alpha.
On Monday, U.K.’s online safety watchdog Ofcom said it launched an investigation into X to determine if the company complied with its duties to protect people in the U.K. from content that is illegal in the country. Reportedly, the U.K. is set to bring into force a law — perhaps as soon as this week — that will make it illegal for companies to provide tools for deepfakes.
On Friday, a group of U.S. senators asked Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google to remove the Elon Musk-owned X and Grok apps from their app stores, citing the generation of nonconsensual sexualized images of women and children on the platforms.
On Friday, xAI said it restricted the use of AI service Grok’s image generation features to paying subscribers following a growing outcry over its use for sexualized deepfakes of women and children.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Musk posted on Jan. 3 on X, saying that, “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”