MCMC-X meeting scheduled for Jan 21, says Fahmi
CYBERJAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and social media platform X will hold a meeting on Wednesday (Jan 21) to discuss online safety issues, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said this includes the Grok artificial intelligence (AI) application, as well as concerns about its potential misuse, particularly in generating pornographic and explicit content that violates national laws.
“We have identified several ways that it (Grok) can still be misused. However, we hope X can make several improvements to restrict the misuse of explicit content.
“So far, X has been cooperative and is open to holding discussions,” said Fahmi, who is also the Madani government spokesman.
On Jan 11, the MCMC ordered a temporary ban on access to Grok for users in Malaysia, which took effect the same day.
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 Jan 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 added 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
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