MCMC presses ahead with legal action against X over user safety

MCMC presses ahead with legal action against X over user safety

The action relates to the misuse of Grok, an artificial intelligence tool developed by xAI, 'to generate and disseminate harmful content'.

mcmc
MCMC said solicitors had been appointed and court action was expected to commence shortly against social media platform X. (MCMC pic)
PETALING JAYA:
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is pressing ahead with legal action against social media platform X over its alleged failure to ensure user safety, particularly involving the misuse of the Grok chatbot.

In a statement today, MCMC said it was pursuing legal action against X Corp, formerly known as Twitter, and xAI LLC, with solicitors already appointed and court action expected to commence shortly.

It said the action was related to the misuse of Grok, an artificial intelligence tool developed by xAI, “to generate and disseminate harmful content”.

“This includes obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images,” MCMC said.

The commission said content allegedly involving women and minors was of serious concern, adding that such conduct contravened Malaysian law and undermined the companies’ stated safety commitments.

MCMC further said notices were issued to X Corp and xAI LLC on Jan 3 and Jan 8 requiring the removal of the offending content, but no remedial action had been taken.

The legal move follows MCMC’s decision on Sunday to impose a temporary restriction on access to the Grok chatbot.

Last year, the commission sued the Telegram messaging platform and two channels accused of disseminating material capable of undermining public trust in institutions and threatening social stability.

In November, MCMC secured a default judgment against the two channels after they failed to respond to the legal action, with the court issuing an Erinford injunction restraining the republication of harmful content and ordering the shutdown of the accounts involved.

MCMC said it remains committed to upholding the law and protecting public interest, warning that all digital platforms operating in, or affecting Malaysia, must fully comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

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