DICT: PH blocks Grok, xAI proposes corrective measures

The Philippine government has blocked artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok over concerns of misuse and generation of non-consensual sexually explicit images.

This was announced by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda on Friday at the sidelines of Globe and Starlink’s partnership deal for the commercial rollout of direct-to-cell satellite service in Taguig City.

Grok was blocked within 24 hours after Aguda announced, during a Palace briefing on Thursday, that the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) are already working on blocking the AI chatbot.

The DICT chief, however, said that xAI has already reached out to him “setting a meeting with me and NTC and CICC to provide a potential solution way forward.”

Aguda said that while Grok is currently blocked in the country, the DICT is open to lifting the prohibition immediately.

He said xAi is proposing corrective measures to ensure that women and children are protected from online sexual abuse or exploitation.

The NTC, through a memorandum circular and in coordination with the CICC, ordered all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to immediately block Grok.

In a separate statement, the CICC said the action was in accordance with Republic Act 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act in a bid to “prevent the abuse of the tool and to safeguard the public from being exploited by its ability to manipulate content, produce sexually explicit materials, and generate deep fakes of real individuals without their consent.”

The CICC further said that the Cybercrime Prevention Act provides that individuals convicted of “cybersex” offenses to face imprisonment from six to twelve years, along with fines ranging from to P200,000 to P1,000,000.

Moreover, those found guilty of child pornography offenses may face 12 years up to life imprisonment, with fines ranging from P500,000 to over P5,000,000.

The Philippines is the third country in the world to block Grok, following Malaysia and Indonesia over issues of misuse and sexually explicit generated content. Several countries, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, have launched investigations.

The xAI said late on Wednesday it imposed restrictions on all users of its Grok AI chatbot that limit image editing.

Grok last week began allowing only paying subscribers to use its image generation and editing features.

Musk said earlier on Wednesday he was "not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero."

He had said before on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content. — BAP, GMA Integrated News