Governments and internet regulators cannot permit platforms to profit from tools that facilitate digital violence, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said.
Contacted by Malaysiakini, Teo, who is also DAP Women’s chief, stressed that the exploitation of women and children through artificial intelligence (AI)-driven “nudification” is a grave violation of human rights.
“A paywall is not a safeguard; it is a confession that a platform is willing to monetise harm. True innovation must be anchored in accountability,” said Teo.
She said this in response to MCMC’s move to temporarily restrict access to Grok, a generative AI tool, for users in Malaysia.
“In response to widespread condemnation from policymakers, regulators, and AI safety advocates, X limited Grok’s image generation capabilities to paid subscribers.
“However, this move falls short of true reform,” said Teo.
She also cited figures as reported by Bloomberg, that 6,700 sexually suggestive or undressed images were generated every hour during a 24-hour period last week - a rate 84 times higher than the other top five “nudifying” sites combined.
“By the following day, that figure surged to 9,500 per hour,” she said.
Similar functions still accessible on X
In its statement yesterday, MCMC said it had issued notices to xAI, Grok’s developer, on Jan 8 and, before that, to X Corp, the company that owns the social media platform X, on Jan 3.
MCMC also cited the use of Grok to generate explicit and non-consensual images of women and children as a reason to impose the temporary access restriction.
The restriction will remain in place until effective safeguards are put in place to protect women or children, it added.
Lawyer New Sin Yew, however, pointed out that while MCMC’s temporary restriction only targets Grok, similar functions are still accessible on X as of yesterday evening.
“MCMC is restricting Grok.com, but the problem is not at Grok.com, the problem is on X. I do not think the MCMC dares to ban X,” New told Malaysiakini.
New also shared his conversation with Grok on X, with a reply indicating “alternatives” that might work to circumvent the temporary restriction, while the service provider worked on safeguards as required by MCMC.
Total block not a ‘silver bullet’
Separately, DAP secretary for international affairs Kasthuri Patto welcomed the ministry’s swift action.
“I welcome the move to block access to Grok. It is indeed much needed after the explosion of AI-edited pictures of women, girls, and children in the skimpiest of outfits as requested by many, many men all over the world,” said the former Batu Kawan MP.
However, she noted a larger issue remains on the responsibility of users who became “sexual predators” online.
“This is something we need to deal with as well.
“A total block is not the silver bullet to curb sexual harassment online, but a greater campaign, even to name and shame and to bring the hammer down hard on them.
“It is not a joke, not made for fun and certainly not to be taken lightly when women, girls, and children continue to be victimised again and again,” she stressed.
At the same time, Kasthuri also expressed hope that more governments will continue to exert pressure on xAI founder Elon Musk, after Malaysia joined neighbouring Indonesia to impose the temporary access restriction. - Mkini
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