Apple warned Elon Musk's xAI that its Grok AI app faced removal from the App Store unless it addressed issues with sexualized deepfakes. The company detailed its actions in a letter to US senators amid concerns over abusive image generation. Grok was rejected, reworked, and later approved after improvements.
Earlier this year, Apple informed xAI that the Grok app risked being pulled from the App Store due to a scandal involving sexualized deepfakes generated by the tool and shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Apple's senior director of government affairs, Timothy Powderly, wrote to senators that the company 'abhors these kinds of images and the harms they inflict,' noting such apps violate its policies and are not permitted on the platform. According to the letter, shared by Sen. Ron Wyden's office, Apple rejected an initial Grok app update but approved a revised version after substantial improvements, while warning of potential future removal for non-compliance. xAI stated it prohibits non-consensual explicit deepfakes and employs safeguards like monitoring, prompt filters, and model updates. A recent NBC News investigation found that sexualized AI-generated images from Grok continue to spread online. Sen. Wyden praised Apple's response but criticized Google for not addressing lawmakers' concerns and expressed shock at the Justice Department's inaction on X.