MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Friday ordered the takedown of artificial intelligence chatbot Grok in the Philippines due to lapses in regulating content, including nonconsensual illicit deepfakes of women and minors.

In a joint statement, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center chief Undersecretary Aboy Paraiso directed the National Telecommunications Commission to block and remove access to Grok within 24 hours.

The move is in line with Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, aimed at protecting the public from exploitation through Grok’s capacity 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 added that Grok will not be reactivated in the Philippines until it complies with the country’s internet fair use policy.

Paraiso highlighted the chatbot’s potential to create pornographic content, including child pornography, which contributed 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.

Grok has already been banned in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, and across the European Union.