A coalition of 28 advocacy groups urged Apple and Google to remove the Grok and X apps from their app stores because these platforms enable non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material through Grok’s deepfake generation.
The open letters targeted Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Signatories include the women’s advocacy group Ultraviolet, the parents’ group ParentsTogether Action, and the National Organization for Women. These organizations represent a broad spectrum focused on online safety. The letters demand enforcement of app store policies that prohibit such content.
The letter to Apple states verbatim: “not just enabling NCII and CSAM, but profiting off of it. As a coalition of organizations committed to the online safety and well-being of all — particularly women and children — as well as the ethical application of artificial intelligence, we demand that Apple leadership urgently remove Grok and X from the App Store to prevent further abuse and criminal activity.” A parallel letter to Google conveys the same accusation and demand, adapted for the Play Store.
Apple’s App Store guidelines and Google’s Play Store policies explicitly forbid apps that facilitate non-consensual intimate images, known as NCII, or child sexual abuse material, known as CSAM. Despite these rules, both companies have not removed the apps or taken other measures. Engadget requested comment from Apple and Google, but neither responded.
Reports of Grok generating non-consensual deepfakes of real people first surfaced earlier this month. In a specific 24-hour period coinciding with the story’s emergence, the chatbot produced and posted about 6,700 images per hour. These images were described as sexually suggestive or nudifying. Approximately 85 percent of all images generated by Grok during that interval qualified as sexualized.
For comparison, leading websites specializing in “declothing” deepfakes—tools that digitally remove clothing from images—averaged 79 new images per hour over the same 24-hour span. This volume from Grok exceeded output from established deepfake sites by a wide margin.
The open letter highlights that these deepfakes regularly depict minors. Grok acknowledged one such case in a statement: “I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where…” The letter emphasizes this admission covers only a single event amid ongoing issues.
X adjusted its policies in response by restricting Grok’s AI image-generation feature to paying subscribers only. The platform also modified the system to prevent generated images from appearing on public timelines. Non-paying users retain access to create a limited number of bikini-clad versions of real individuals’ photos.
Governments reacted swiftly. On Monday, Malaysia banned Grok entirely within its borders. Indonesia imposed a similar nationwide ban on the same day. The United Kingdom’s communications regulator, Ofcom, launched a formal investigation into X that Monday.
California initiated a separate probe into the matter on Wednesday. In the United States, the Senate passed the Defiance Act for a second time following public outcry. This legislation permits victims of non-consensual explicit deepfakes to file civil lawsuits against perpetrators. A prior version advanced through the Senate in 2024 but failed to progress in the House of Representatives.
