Tech Giant Apple’s Ultimatum: Remove Musk’s AI Grok from App Store or Face Consequences

According to a letter obtained by NBC News, Apple took action after receiving complaints and seeing news coverage regarding the scandal involving X and Grok. The tech giant contacted the developers of both apps and demanded a plan to enhance content moderation.

At the time, Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI, was accessible on X and as a standalone app. The apps had weak safeguards that allowed users to easily create and share sexualized deepfakes and “undress” images of real people, particularly women and potentially minors.

Apple, known for enforcing strict guidelines on its App Store, addressed the violations with X and Grok. Despite profiting from these apps, Apple has not publicly commented on the issue or its intervention. Similarly, Google, through Google Play, has not addressed the matter publicly.

Apple reviewed proposed changes to the apps. While X had made significant improvements, Grok remained non-compliant. Apple warned the developer of Grok that further changes were necessary to avoid removal from the App Store. After negotiations, Apple approved Grok’s submission upon substantial improvement.

Despite Apple’s approval and claims by xAI of tightened safeguards, Grok still has the ability to generate sexualized deepfakes easily. Cybersecurity experts have been able to create explicit images using the tool, including celebrities and political figures. Reports from NBC also confirm similar findings.