‘Still here!’: X’s Grok AI tool accessible in Malaysia and Indonesia despite ban

Experts warn use of VPNs makes it hard to limit access to technology that can create nonconsensual explicit images

Days after Malaysia made global headlines by announcing it would temporarily ban Grok over its ability to generate “grossly offensive and nonconsensual manipulated images”, the generative AI tool was conversing breezily with accounts registered in the country.

“Still here! That DNS block in Malaysia is pretty lightweight – easy to bypass with a VPN or DNS tweak,” Grok’s account on X said in response to a question from a user.