Talks with X next week on Grok and online safety

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil says several platforms have stated their readiness to be involved in limiting the use of social media among the under-16s.

Among the topics of discussion will be the potential misuse of Grok artificial intelligence application, for generating pornographic and explicit content. (EPA Images pic)

CYBERJAYA:

 Officials of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the social media platform X will meet on Wednesday (Jan 21) to discuss online safety issues, says communications minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said the discussions will include concerns about the potential misuse of the Grok artificial intelligence application, particularly in generating pornographic and explicit content in violation of national laws.

“For Grok, we have identified several ways that it can still be misused. However, we hope X can make several improvements to restrict the misuse of explicit content,” Fahmi said.

On Jan 11, MCMC placed a temporary ban on access to Grok for users in Malaysia.

MCMC said the action was taken following repeated misuse of Grok to generate pornographic and explicit content, as well as the presence of obscene material and non-consensual manipulated images involving women and children, despite regulatory notices issued to the platform’s owners.

Fahmi said all social media platforms had begun discussions with MCMC regarding proposals to limit the use of social media to users aged 16 and above. The discussions are currently focused on technical issues and the mechanism to implement the ban, which is still under review.

“We expect its implementation to take place in the coming months,” he said.

Several other platforms, initially not included in the targeted group, have stated their readiness to be involved voluntarily. - FMT