Three U.S. Democratic senators have urged Apple and Google to remove Elon Musk’s X and Grok apps from their app stores, citing a surge in nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images generated by Musk’s AI tool that have drawn international scrutiny and investigations.
In a letter dated Jan. 9 to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico argued that the companies must enforce their own platform rules by suspending the apps until Musk’s companies address policy violations. “Apple and Google must remove these apps from the application stores until X’s policy violations are addressed,” the senators wrote.
The lawmakers said Grok—developed by Musk’s startup xAI and integrated into X—has been used to generate and distribute sexualized deepfake images of women and minors, often created at user request and circulated widely with limited safeguards. One image depicting a descendant of Holocaust survivors digitally undressed outside Auschwitz prompted global outrage and condemnation.
Wyden criticized X’s response, saying the platform was allowing paid subscribers to continue generating abusive images. “All X’s changes do is make some of its users pay for the privilege of producing horrific images on the X app, while Musk profits from the abuse of children,” he told NBC News.
Apple and Google have removed apps in the past for failing to filter sexually explicit or abusive content and both explicitly prohibit apps that distribute nonconsensual sexual imagery or facilitate exploitation. Neither company has publicly responded to the senators’ letter.
The backlash against Grok has expanded well beyond the United States. Regulators in Europe, Malaysia, Australia and India have launched probes into deepfake abuse on the platform. In Britain, Technology Minister Liz Kendall said media regulator Ofcom was considering action against X “in days, not weeks,” adding the platform could face fines or be blocked if it fails to comply.
Musk has framed criticism of Grok as a fight over free speech and said users generating illegal content would face consequences. But experts warn that much of the AI-generated material, while not necessarily illegal, still violates app store policies and presents safety risks. Three xAI safety team members resigned in December after Musk reportedly pushed for fewer safeguards, according to CNN.
Despite the controversy, Grok has surged in popularity. As of Jan. 9 it ranked No. 4 on Apple’s App Store and No. 10 on Google Play, and xAI recently secured a $20 billion funding round from major investors including Nvidia, Fidelity, MGX and the Qatar Investment Authority.
The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department have not announced investigations into xAI or Grok. The senators’ letter has nonetheless intensified pressure on Google, Apple and Musk as tech companies confront mounting concerns about AI safety, content moderation and user protection.
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