MANILA – The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Friday ordered the takedown of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok in the Philippines due to several lapses in regulating content, particularly of nonconsensual illicit deepfakes of women and minors.
In a statement, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) chief Undersecretary Aboy Paraiso requested that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) block and take down access to Grok within 24 hours.
The takedown request is in accordance with Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act to safeguard the public from being exploited through Grok’s ability to “manipulate content, produce sexually explicit materials, and generate deepfakes of real individuals without their consent.”
“Mabilis po kaming umaksyon kasi ‘yan po ang mandato sa amin ng Presidente. Sabi ng Presidente, kapag may public harm, dapat unahan na natin. (We moved fast as ordered by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The President told us that if there is harm to the public, we need to act fast),” Aguda said.
He noted that Grok will not be reactivated until it can comply with the Philippines’ internet fair use policy.
On the other hand, Paraiso highlighted Grok’s ability to create pornographic content, especially child pornography, leading to its ban in other countries.
“Kasi available siya sa lahat, even ‘yung mga kabataan natin, naa-access siya (Because it’s available to everyone, even our minors can access it). It allows the creation of content that allows pornography,” he said.
To date, Grok has been banned in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France and the European Union. (PNA)