Apple has reportedly threatened to remove Grok from the App Store over deepfakes

Grok, Elon Musk’s xAI app, was pulled from Apple’s App Store earlier this year. In the middle of a scandal on sexual deepfakes of real people created by the tool that went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter.

according to Reports from NBC NewsApple told US senators in a letter about its dealings with xAI through the app, including warnings that Grok will be removed from the App Store if changes are not made to address the deepfake crisis. A separate report from NBC this week, an investigation into Grok’s case, found that the AI-generated images were sexual in nature They still come from your puppy And spread over the Internet.

Representatives for Apple and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CNET also reached out to the press offices of three of the senators who authored the book Letter to Apple and Google (PDF) In January, it prompted them to enforce App Store rules to deal with Grok’s deepfake issues.

Grok is the primary AI tool available to users of the X social media platform, and in addition to being able to answer questions as a chatbot, Grok can also create images and videos. Late last year, reports of widespread abuse of this function emerged from users who requested sexual images of people, including children, which were then posted on

In a Statement on X“We strictly prevent users from creating explicit fake images without their consent and from using our tools to expose real people,” the company said. “xAI has extensive safeguards in place to prevent this abuse, such as continuous monitoring of public usage, real-time analysis of evasion attempts, frequent form updates, fast filters, and additional safeguards.”

Back and forth with Apple

The NBC News report cites communications from Apple telling senators that, in response to public outcry over Grok, it warned that changes were needed to both the X and Grok apps. xAI reportedly submitted app versions for both, with Grok’s app rejected and then reworked to meet Apple’s approval.

In a letter from Apple, Timothy Powderly, the company’s senior director of government affairs, told senators, “Apple abhors these types of images and the harm they cause. Apps that generate and disseminate such content violate our policies, and are not permitted on our platform.”

The letter, which Sen. Ron Wyden’s office shared with CNET, details Apple’s app policies and the steps it has taken with Apps X and Grok. Apple said that after this process, “we determined that Grok had significantly improved and therefore approved its latest submissions. This approval allowed Grok to update applications installed on user devices with improved software. We expect Grok to include additional improvements in subsequent submissions.”

Apple left the door open for future removal if Grok violates Apple’s terms. “As we have made clear to them – as is the case with all developers – if they cannot adhere to the guidelines, they will be removed from the App Store.”

In a statement to CNET, Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, also criticized Google for not responding to a request from lawmakers related to concerns about Grok. A Google representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I appreciate Apple’s detailed response to our questions about how it responded to the disgusting spread of CSAM and non-consensual deepfakes in the Grok and X apps,” Wyden said. “It remains shocking that the Department of Justice under (President Donald) Trump has taken no action to hold X accountable for producing and distributing massive amounts of vile material.”