The government will lift the nationwide ban on Grok AI, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI, after promising to adhere to stricter digital safety standards in the Philippines.
According to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), negotiations with the AI developer resulted in modifying some of the system's capabilities for the local market, specifically features that could be used to create illicit deepfakes.
The ban was implemented in January after regulators identified the risk of non-consensual and sexual content, which was considered a threat to women and minors, prompting the immediate blocking of access.
Under the new agreement, xAI has pledged to remove image manipulation features, ensure complete exclusion of pornographic content, and strengthen protection against child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Although the ban will be lifted, the CICC stressed that they will continue to monitor the platform to ensure continued compliance with the country's laws and regulations as the formal implementation of the technical rules approaches.
