CYBERJAYA, Jan 16 — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and social media platform X will hold a meeting next Wednesday (January 21) to discuss online safety issues, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.

He said this includes the Grok artificial intelligence (AI) application, as well as concerns about the potential misuse of Grok, particularly in generating pornographic and explicit content that violates 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 which violates the country’s laws.

“So far, we have seen that X has given good cooperation and is open to holding discussions,” Fahmi, who is also the Madani Government spokesman, told Bernama and RTM after delivering a message to Information Department (JAPEN) staff here today.

On January 11, the MCMC ordered a temporary ban on access to Grok for users in Malaysia, which took effect the same day.

According to the MCMC, 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 X Corp and xAI LLC.

On January 14, the MCMC was quoted as saying it is considering taking legal action against X Corp (formerly Twitter) and xAI LLC following their failure to ensure the safety of users in Malaysia regarding the use of Grok.

In addition, Fahmi said all social media platforms had begun discussions with the MCMC regarding proposals to limit the use of social media to users aged 16 and above.

Fahmi said the discussions are currently focused on the 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, but the exact date will be determined before I make any announcement,” he said.

He also said that several other platforms, which were initially not included in the targeted group, have stated their readiness to be involved voluntarily.

“I feel that it’s not the right time to name these platforms, but I view this as a good effort by the platforms, which proactively wish to understand the government’s efforts to ensure a safer Internet space, especially for children,” said Fahmi. — Bernama