The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced on Wednesday its readiness to lift the access ban on Grok AI, provided its developer, xAI, implements strict safeguards against the creation of illicit deepfakes.
DICT to Lift Grok AI Ban
The AI platform was banned in the Philippines last Friday following reports of its misuse in generating harmful synthetic media. The move follows similar bans in Indonesia and Malaysia, while the European Union and the United Kingdom have initiated investigations into the platform’s safety standards.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda stated that the government will unblock the platform once it addresses concerns regarding the generation of nonconsensual pornographic content, specifically involving minors. Aguda noted that xAI has already reached out to Philippine authorities and is committed to fixing these legal and ethical issues.
“Our promise to xAI: if you protect the Philippines, we’ll unblock that, and you can use us as a reference in other countries,” Aguda said during a press conference in Quezon City.
Undersecretary Renato Paraiso of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) added that xAI has pledged to modify Grok for the Philippine market by removing certain content manipulation features. He emphasized that the CICC will continue to monitor the platform closely even after the ban is lifted to ensure strict compliance with local regulations.
Started his freelancing adventure in 2018 and began doing freelance Audio Engineering work and then started freelance writing a few years later.
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