The governments of Malaysia and Indonesia have suspended access to social network X, on grounds that it allows users to produce sexual imagery without users’ consent.
Malaysia’s announcement of the suspension says that the nation’s Communications and Multimedia Commission demanded that X take measures to prevent users from generating material that contravenes Malaysian laws, but that the Elon-Musk-owned service’s response didn’t address the issue. Malaysia will therefore block X until the service implements safeguards the Commission deems appropriate.
On Sunday, Indonesia’s minister of communications and digital affairs Meutya Hafid also announced blocks on X. “The government views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the security of citizens in the digital space,” the minister said.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also reportedly warned X that it must do more to prevent sexual deepfakes.
Elon Musk has responded by arguing the true motivation for blocking X is suppressing free speech.
Indonesia, India, and Malaysia have often blocked online services that carry content the three nations find inappropriate.
X can ill afford to alienate the governments of India and Indonesia, the world’s most-populous and fourth-most-populous nations.
