KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will meet with social media platform X on January 21 to discuss online safety issues, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil confirmed today.
Fahmi added that the talks would focus on the AI application Grok, developed by xAI and integrated into X, and concerns surrounding its potential misuse, particularly in generating illegal pornography and explicit content.
“We have identified several ways Grok could still be misused. However, we hope X can implement improvements to limit the abuse of pornographic content that violates the country’s laws,” Fahmi said, as reported by Bernama.
He also acknowledged that X has been cooperative and open to discussions.
On January 11, MCMC imposed a temporary ban on access to Grok, citing repeated instances of abuse involving harmful and pornographic content. The commission’s statement explained that the restriction was enforced after X Corp. and xAI LLC failed to implement effective technical measures and moderation controls, despite prior warnings.
Grok was found to have been misused multiple times to generate inappropriate, explicit, and offensive material, including altered images involving women and children without consent.
Fahmi further shared that all social media platforms are currently engaged in talks with MCMC regarding a proposal to restrict social media usage to users aged 16 and above.
“These discussions are now focused on the technical issues and mechanisms to enforce this ban, which is still under review,” Fahmi stated. He added that the implementation could happen in the coming months, though no specific date had been set.
He also revealed that several platforms initially not part of the target group had expressed willingness to voluntarily participate.
“I believe it’s not the right time to name these platforms, but I see this as a positive effort by them to proactively understand the government’s initiative to ensure a safer Internet space, especially for children,” Fahmi concluded. – January 16, 2026