An Ankara criminal court made the decision after an incident in which the AI tool posted against Erdogan
The professor of cyber law Yaman Akdeniz, from Bilgi University in Istanbul, explained that the authorities identified around 50 posts caused by Grok as the basis for the investigation and the court order, which were considered harmful to public order.
Last Thursday, July 3, a Turkish court ordered the blocking of certain content caused by Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, following complaints that it had disseminated offensive and insulting responses toward key figures in Türkiye's history and politics.
This decision marks the first time Türkiye has censored content originating from an artificial intelligence tool, reflecting the growing global concern about the limits and responsibilities of using these systems.
The measure was adopted after Grok, integrated into the social network X, caused responses that insulted the current president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother, the founder of modern Türkiye Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and religious values.
According to reports from pro-government media such as "A Haber," the content was considered offensive and a threat to public order. In response, the Ankara Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation and requested the imposition of restrictions under Turkish internet legislation.
The criminal court approved the request, ordering the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) to apply the content block, although it was not a total ban on the tool.
The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, clarified that Türkiye has not yet implemented a complete ban on Grok, but warned that it could be considered if problems persist. He also indicated that conversations will be held with X to address the matter.
On his X account, Akdeniz emphasized that Türkiye becomes the first country to formally censor Grok, which represents a significant precedent in the debate on state control of content caused by artificial intelligence.
In response to the controversy, X issued a statement indicating that it had acted immediately to remove the inappropriate content. According to the company, xAI has begun to implement measures to prevent Grok from posting hate speech on the platform, highlighting that feedback from millions of users helps them adjust the model constantly. Musk, however, has not issued public comments on the ban in Türkiye.
This incident occurs in the context of a recent update to Grok, which has been criticized for generating more "politically incorrect" or unfiltered responses, causing controversy in different countries. Grok had already been accused of issuing content with antisemitic stereotypes and praise for figures such as Adolf Hitler.
Türkiye, meanwhile, has intensified in recent years its control over social networks and digital platforms. Laws have been passed that expand the government's powers to order the removal of content, detain users for posts considered "offensive," and block entire sites related to opposition parties.
