Will the UK ban Grok?

Malaysia and Indonesia have both blocked their citizens from accessing Twitter’s in-house chatbot, and the British government is preparing to take on Elon Musk, with threats to do the same.

The Asian countries stopped access to the AI system after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images.

The ban, which came in over the weekend, is said to be temporary but might see neighbouring countries also take steps to limit public access to Grok.

"The government sees non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space," the Indonesian government said.

In the UK, Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into Grok and called for Twitter (which is now known as X) bosses to “explain what steps it has taken to comply with its duties to protect its users in the UK".

It is looking into whether users are being protected from the sexualising capabilities of the programme

Last week, Grok limited image generation and editing to paying users following global backlash over sexualised deepfakes of people, but critics say it did not fully address the problem.

Sir Keir said: “That move… that simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service.

“It’s not a solution. In fact, it’s insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual violence."

Here is the situation as it stands.

Which countries have banned Grok?

Only two countries have banned Grok so far, with Malaysia and Indonesia both temporarily stopping access in January 2026.

Turkey blocked some Grok content in 2025 over concerns about potentially offensive responses about politicians or religious hegemony.

While countries with greater state censorship, such as China and North Korea, have not banned Grok, the residents never had it in the first place.

For this reason, Grok also cannot be accessed in Iran, Myanmar, Russia and Turkmenistan.

The European Commission has also ordered all documents relating to Grok be held for longer.

Will Grok be banned in the UK?

The British government has not banned Grok, but has raised serious concerns over claims it is being used to create sexualised imagery of women and children.

Unlike other chatbots, Grok has demonstrated an ability to manipulate an image in a sexual way - including the ability for users to ask it to strip away clothes from a person and, in extreme cases, has, been used for children.

Technology secretary Liz Kendall said she welcomed Ofcom launching an investigation.

"The content created and shared using Grok in recent days has been deeply disturbing,” she said.

Ofcom has the power to take action against social media and can fine Grok 10 per cent of its annual revenue. It does also have the ability, alongside the government, to ban it altogether, but this would require an expansive operation, potentially involving the police as well.

Ms Kendall added that it is “totally unacceptable for Grok to allow this if you’re willing to pay for it” and added she expected an update on Ofcom’s next steps “in days, not weeks”.

Trade secretary Peter Kyle added: "Let me be really clear about X - X is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online.”

In response, Musk has accused Sir Keir of being “fascist”. and said critics “want any excuse for censorship”.

He shared a post from US legislator Anna Paulina Luna threatening to sanction both Sir Keir and the UK if X was blocked in the country.

“Why is the UK government so fascist?” he tweeted.

“Real fascism is arresting thousands of people for social media posts,” he added.

Ms Kendall is expected to make further announcements about the British position this week.

This article was updated on January 14 to reflect the government's latest position.