Women groups press Apple, Google to drop Grok, X from app stores over nude deepfakes of children

After intense backlash on X over sexually explicit images of women, women’s groups and progressive activists are urging Apple and Google to remove the social media platform and its associated chatbot, Grok, from their app stores.

In open letters published on Wednesday, the coalition accused the Elon Musk-owned apps of generating illegal content that violates both companies’ terms of service.

AI-generated images have sparked widespread outrage, with headlines highlighting serious privacy violations. Several countries have now called on Elon Musk to take immediate action to address the issue.

The push, whose backers include the feminist group UltraViolet, the National Organization for Women, the liberal group MoveOn, and the parent advocacy group ParentsTogether Action, is aimed at piling pressure on Musk after Grok began generating sexually charged images.

“We are really imploring Apple and Google to take this extremely seriously,” Jenna Sherman, UltraViolet’s campaign director, told Reuters ahead of the letter’s release.

  “They are enabling a system in which thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people, particularly women and children, are being sexually abused through the help of their own app stores,” she said.  

In response the parent company which powers Grok, xAI, said, “Legacy Media Lies.”

The bustle escalated after X was flooded with hyper-realistic images of women and minors in skimpy clothing at the turn of the new year.  

Malaysia and Indonesia have already banned Grok over the explicit content, while authorities in Europe and the United Kingdom have announced investigations or demanded answers.

X has adjusted the chatbot’s behavior so that images Grok generates or edits are not posted to the public timeline, a Reuters test of Grok on Tuesday showed it was still generating bikini-clad versions of people’s photographs on demand.